bl    730 


449- 


WILLIAM  WILSON, 
COLONEL  AND  BREVET  BRIGADIER  GENERAL. 


449 


THE     HISTORY 


OF    A 


VOLUNTEER   REGIMENT 


BEING  A  SUCCINCT  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ORGANIZATION, 
SERVICES  AND  ADVENTURES 


OF  THE 


Regiment!  Jleto  Ifoi^  Volunteer 


KNOWN     AS    WILSON    ZOUAVES. 

WHERE    THEY    WENT— WHAT    THEY    DID-AND    WHAT    THEY    SAW 
IN   THE  WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION,  1861  TO  1865. 


Prepared     from     Official     Data,     by 

GOUVERNEUR     N1ORRIS, 

Late     U.     S.    V. 

Illustrated     by    JAMES     E 


NEW  YORK  : 

VETERAN  VOLUNTEER  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 
1891. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1891,  by  the 

VETERAN  VOLUNTEER  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


TO   THE 

SONS   AND   DAUGHTERS 

Of  the  Officers  and  Enlisted  Men  who  composed  the 
SIXTH  REGIMENT   INFANTRY   NEW  YORK  VOLUNTEERS 

THIS   RECORD 

Of  their   Fathers'    achievements   in   times  that  tried  men's  souls  is 

affectionately  inscribed  with   the   hope   that   they  may 

love  their  Country  and  its  Flag  better  for  knowing 

what  their  freedom  and  integrity  have  cost. 


M145787 


PICTURES    AND    MAPS, 


PAGE 

FRONTISPIECE — Colonel  William  Wilson,     .         .         .         .         .  2 

Some  of  the  Officers  of  the  Sixth,           ......  7 

Some  of  the  Enlisted  men  of  the  Sixth,         .....  10 

March  down  Broadway  in  1861,             ......  14 

Landing  at  Santa  Rosa  Island,     .......  38 

Battery  Cameron,          .........  49 

Battle  of  Santa  Rosa,             ........  56 

Bombardment,      ..........  64 

Map  of  Santa  Rosa  and  Vicinity,           ......  70 

Landing  at  Indian  Bend,      .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  go 

Battle  of  Irish  Bend, -95 

Battle  of  Bayou  Vermillion,           ......  106 

Map  of  Louisiana,         ......  112 

The  Society  at  Paterson,  N.  J., i57 


SOME  OF  THE  OFFICERS  OF  THE  SIXTH. 


C  ONTENTS. 


PAGE 

OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS  OF  THK  SOCIETY,          ...        12 
INTRODUCTION,  .........        15 

PREFACE,  . 17 

CHAPTER  I. — Organization. — Flag   Presentation.— Address  of 

Dr.  Weston. — Reply  of  Colonel  Wilson. — Embarkation, 

CHAPTER  II. — The  "  Vanderbilt." — The  Voyage  to  Santa  Rosa 

CHAPTER  III. — Santa  Rosa  Island. — Companies  A,  B  and  E, 

transferred  to  Key  West  and  Ft.  Jefferson. — First  Shot 

from  Battery  Cameron. — Dogs  and  Toy  Boats  as  News 

Carriers. — Burning  of  the  Dry  Dock. — Cutting  out  the 

"Judah." 39 

CHAPTER  IV. — Battle  of  Santa  Rosa  Island,      ....         57 

CHAPTER  V. — Bombardment,    .......         65 

CHAPTER  VI. — Retrenchment. — Major  Vogdes  and  the  Goat. — 
Return  of  Companies  A,  B  and  E,  to  Santa  Ilosa. — Pen- 
sacola.  —  Blackwater,  Milton  and  Oakfield. — Theatre. — 
General  Neal  Dow. — General  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  .  71 

CHAPTER  VII.— New  Orleans.— Baton  Rouge. — Port  Hudson,         84 
CHAPTER  VIII. — First  Red  River  Campaign. — Donaldsonville. 

—  Brashear  City, 91 

CHAPTER  IX. — Landing  at  Indian  Bend — Battle  of  Irish  Bend,         97 
CHAPTER  X. — Vermillion   Bayou  — Gen.  William    Dwight.— 

Alexandria. — Provost  Duty,     ......        103 

CHAPTER  XI. — Going  Home. — Simmesport. — New  Orleans. — - 
Steamer  "  Cahavvba." — Confederate  Prisoners  of  War. 
— Fortress  Monroe. — Arrival  at  New  York. — Draft  Riots 
and  Staten  Island,  .  .  .  113 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XII.—  Resume.—  Florida  Garrisons. — Battle  of  Santa 
Rosa — Col.  Harvey  Brown. — Gen.   Banks — Gen.  Grover. 

Gen.  Dwiglit  — Plan  for  enlistments,         .         .         .  118 

The  Surviving  Officers 125 

Recollections, »    .         .         .         .  127 

Prison  Experience  of  John  J.  Shaughnessy,       ....  133 
MEMORANDA. — First  Call. — Orders.— Col.  Brown's   Report. — 
Circulars  and  Orders. — Resolutions  Confederate  Officers. 
—  The  Governor  assigns   Col.   Wilson  to  Staten  Island 

during  Draft  Riots, 137 

APPENDICES  No.  1,  2,  and  3, 144 

Muster-Out  Roll, .147 

Brevet  Brigadier-General — Col.  Wilson's  Commission,        .  153 

Society  Sixth  Regiment  Infantry  New  York  Volunteers,  .         .  154 

New  York  State  Commissions,   .......  159 

Service  of  Plate  presented  to  Alderman  William  Wilson,         .  100 


JOHN.   J.    SHAUGHNESSY 

SOME  ENLISTED  MEN  OF  THE  SIXTH 


Corporal    PHILIP    CARROLL 

SOME  ENLISTED  MEN  OF  THE  SIXTH. 


OFFICERS    OF    THE    SOCIETY 

^eginpli-  Infantr1!}  WeW  Yo^  Volunteer^ 

I  890-V9  I. 

PRESIDENT CAPT.  C.  E.   HEUBERER. 

VICE-PRESIDENT THOMAS  SMITH. 

TREASURER THOMAS  J.  ROBARTS. 

SECRETARY  ....  JOHN  W.  STICKELMAN. 

TRUSTEES:      .         .         .         .  ABM.  BUTTERWORTH. 

SERGT.  J.  H.  THEBERATH. 
CAPT.  W.  J.  DENSLOW. 


HONORARY     MEMBERS. 


Colonel  HENRY  W.   CLOSSON,  4th  U.  S.  Artillery. 
Colonel   LOOM  IS  L.   LANGDON,  1st  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  RICHARD    H.    JACKSON,  4th  U.   S.   Artillery, 
and  Brevet  Brigadier- General  U.  S.  Volunteers. 

Major  A.  C.  M.  PENNINGTON,  4th  U.  S.  Artillery, 
and  Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  U.  S.  Army. 

Captain  J.   GALES  RAMSAY,  3d  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Chaplain  MICHAEL  NASH,   S.   J. 
WILLIAM  A.  WILSON. 


MEMBERS    OF    THE    SOCIETY. 


Robert  Adams 
Robert  Bailey 
Abraham  Butterworth 
David  Bayard 
James  Brady 
Charles  J.  Campbell 
Owen  Craig 
B.  W.  Crane 
W.  H.  Ccok 
L.  H.  Carniaux 
Edward  Cassidy 
Philip  Carroll 
Charles  Chandler 
\V.  J.  Denslow 
F.  J.  Drackert 
Thomas  Duffy 
James  Dunkerly 
William  Davis 
Francis  Donnelly 
James  Entwisle 
Henry  Eckhardt 
August  Freund 
John  Flaherty 
Charles  Fisher 
Daniel  Grogan 
Robert  Gill 
William  Gillen 


James  Gaffney 
John  Gannon 
Charles  F.  Ileuberer 
Moore  Hanham 
John  Higgins 
Lewis  Kannapel 
W.  B.  Kaufman 
Samuel  Keeler 
WTilliam  Knappmann 
James  Kielt 
J.  G.  McNutt 
William  Marshall 
J.  H.  McCarrick 
William  Me  Henry 
John  S    McLaughlin 
John  Mahony 
James  P.  Murray 
Edward  McDonald 
Henry  Nordt 
Sidney  A.  Nichols 
Henry  Oatgen 
John  Oldham 
Seth  Oakley 
Charles  O'Conor 
Lewis  Powley 
Samuel  Pardy 
A.  J.  Quinn 


George  L.  Russell 
James  Robinson 
Thomas  J.  Robarts 
J.  Randall 
W.  St    Clair 
Thomas  Smith 
Charles  Schuh 
John  Smith 
Christian  Shuart 
John  W.  Stickelman 
Robert  C.  Silvey 
John  O.  Silvey 
James  Smith 
John  J.  Shaughnessy 
Jacob  II.  Theberath 
Richard  L.  Taylor 
J.  B.  Tooker 
Peter  Tawse 
James  F.  Wood 
Samuel  Walker 
William  Welch 
J.  J.  Wolfer 
Thomas  Walsh 
John  Wellington 
Thomas  Worth 
Charles  C.  Wildman 


INTRODUCTION. 

THIS  sketch  of  life  in  and  services  of  a  New  York 
Volunteer  Regiment  during  the  civil  war,  is  not  written 
from  the  ordinary  point  of  view  of  most  similar  his 
tories.  The  usual  run  of  such  books  depict  the  heroic 
volunteer  bidding  good-bye  to  wife  and  children,  and 
rushing  to  the  field  with  "patriotism,  glory  or  death," 
as  his  watch-words.  This  view  of  the  case  is  abso 
lutely  absurd.  The  American  volunteer  was  a  high- 
class  man  for  the  position  of  a  private"  soldier.  In 
fact  he  represented  the  brain,  muscle,  and  will,  of 
the  nation  embattled.  At  the  same  time  he  was  by 
no  manner  of  means  a  fool,  and  of  all  other  created 
beings  he  had  the  least  possible  romance  about  him. 
He  was  in  fact,  a  strong,  cool  man,  brave  by  heredity, 
as  Teuton,  Celt,  or  Norseman  ;  clever  enough  to 
recognize  the  fact  that  to  carry  out  his  contract 
of  service  obedience  and  discipline  were  essential, 
but  not  in  any  shape  a  "gusher."  The  American 
volunteer  had  very  little  use  for  what  he  would 
have  called  "swash,"  and  yet  so  strange  is  the  irony 
of  fate,  that  many  of  the  books  written  about  him, 
and  his  ways,  have  been  the  outcome  of  the  leisure 
of  persons  who  practically  knew  little  of  the  men 
whose  doings  they  have  endeavored  to  depict.  It  is 
proposed  in  this  book  to  make  an  exception  to  the 
apparently  established  rule,  and  as  an  old  soldier, 


1 6  Introduction. 


writing  to  old  soldiers,  I  propose  to  show  the  life  in 
question  as  nearly  as  a  similarity  of  experience  will 
enable  me  to  do. 

I  have  only  here  touched  lightly  on  such  matters  as 
personal  bravery  under  fire,  and  have  not  tried  to 
portray  in  vivid  colors,  the  inevitable  hardships  and 
discomforts  of  field  service. 

The  first  of  these  attributes,  given  men  of  good  type 
with  officers  of  energy  and  intelligence,  can  always 
be  predicated.  Men  who  are  not  used  to  keep  to 
gether  and  have  confidence  in  each  other  and  in  their 
officers  will  be  unreliable  ;  the  same  men  differently 
treated  will  do  efficient  service,  and  as  the  Sixth  while 
at  Santa  Rosa  and  its  neighborhood  had  the  advan 
tage  of  good  teaching,  both  by  precept  and  example, 
it  naturally  became  steady  under  fire.  Similarly  there 
is  no  object  in  enlarging  on  the  hard  work,  bad  food, 
exposure  and  general  misery  inherent  on  living  in 
the  open  air  and  being  moved  rapidly  from  place  to 
place  regardless  of  weather.  All  of  these  things  are 
in  the  service  contract,  and  though  a  man  would 
deserve  reprobation  for  flinching  under  them,  he  is 
not  deserving  of  any  especial  commendation  for 
cheerfully  enduring  the  inevitable. 

G.    M. 


Preface. 


PREFACE. 

QUITE  a  generation  ago,  as  time  is  reckoned  by 
men,  the  Republic  of  the  United  States  of  America 
found  itself  in  this  dilemma  :  Is  this  government  of 
Federalized  States  to  endure,  or  is  it  not  ?  The 
entire  question  resolved  itself  into  a  construction  of 
the  Federal  Constitution,  and  there  was  no  court 
except  that  of  arms  which  could  render  the  final 
decision.  And  so  it  was  that  the  two  sections  which 
represented  the  differing  elements  finally,  after  much 
argumentation,  in  order  to  decide  the  vexed  question, 
drew  swords  and  set  themselves  one  against  the 
other  after  the  manner  of  their  Norse,  Saxon  and 
Celtic  ancestors,  to  fight  it  out  to  the  very  bitter 
end,  so  that,  however  the  question  at  variance  was 
finally  decided,  no  man  could  ever  revive  it. 

In  pursuance  of  this  final  resort  of  strong  manhood, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  the  then  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  the  early  spring  of  1861  called  for  troops 
^wherewith  to  maintain  the  authority  of  the  central 
government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  demonstrate 
to  the  world  the  impossibility  and  illegality  of  any 
State  of  the  Union  separating  itself  from  the  Federal 
bond. 

The  call  of  the  President  was  instantly  followed  by 
the  tread  of  armed  thousands,  and  in  that  time  of 


1 8  Preface. 

strong  excitement  his  requisition  could  have  been 
four  times  what  it  was  and  have  been  answered  to  that 
extent,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  misapprehension  of 
the  government  as  to  the  weight  of  the  contest  to 
which  it  had  pledged  itself. 

Naturally,  in  a  country  which  had  been  practically 
at  peace  for  fifty  years,  and  whose  existing  weight 
and  possible  potentiality,  joined  to  its  distance  from 
powerful  neighbors,  had  neutralized  the  inherited 
combatant  spirit  of  its  people,  there  were  many 
difficulties  and  many  anomalies  consequent  on  raising 
a  great  army  with  a  very,  numerically  speaking, 
insufficient  staff,  a  body  of  line  officers  who  were 
practically  selected  by  themselves,  and  a  very 
meagre  equipment  in  every  way. 

In  fact,  the  only  favorable  point  in  the  situation  was 
the  remarkable  constitution  of  the  rank  and  file  of  this 
improvised  army.  Hardened  farmers  and  mechanics, 
daring  adventurers  in  all  sorts  of  lines,  men  of  high 
cultivation  and  wide  experience,  took  arms  and  ranked 
up  elbow  to  elbow,  and  by  their  lavish  expenditure  of 
blood  and  toil  saved  the  Union.  Later  it  is  true,  men 
were  acquired  by  process  of  purchase,  or  conscription, 
and  very  poor  stuff  most  of  them  were,  but  the  men 
who  fought  the  civil  war  to  its  bitter  end  were  mostly 
the  volunteers  of  1861,  1862  and  1863. 

In  the  original  call  for  troops  a  considerable  levy 
was  of  course  made  on  the  city  of  New  York.  And 
it  is  of  these  troops,  and  especially  of  a  particular  unit 
of  them  known  on  the  rous  as  the  Sixth  Regiment 
New  York  Volunteers,  that  this  record  purposes  to 
speak. 

The  city  of  New  York  is  rather  sui  generis  among 


Preface.  \  g 

the  cities  of  the  United  States.  It  is  the  most  cosmo 
politan,  the  richest,  and  the  most  foreign  of  all  of  its 
seaport  towns  ;  but  curiously  enough  it  is,  when  one 
gets  close  to  its  heart,  the  most  American  of  them  all. 
And  so  it  was  at  the  epoch  of  the  civil  war. 

New  York  was  Democratic  in  politics.  Cared  but 
little  as  to  whether  the  negro  was  kept  in  servitude  or 
not.  Was  indifferent  as  to  the  various  ologies  of  the 
day,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  was  intensely  in  favor  of 
the  maintenance  of  the  Union. 

And  the  city  at  that  time,  as  always,  held  a  large 
population  who  were  eminently  fitted  to  back  any 
cause  that  they  fancied,  in  arms.  For  the  American 
portion  of  them  had  fighting  traditions  :  some  of  their 
ancestors  had  carried  a  musket  under  Washington,  or 
swung  a  cutlass  under  Paul  Jones;  others  had  stories  of 
service  in  the  Constitution  or  the  States  frigates,  or  of 
private  service  under  Reid  or  Ordroneaux  ;  and  joined 
to  this,  most  of  the  young  men  of  the  time  were,  like 
most  men  bred  in  large  cities,  of  good  physique,  used 
to  hard  work  all  day,  and  a  somewhat  irregular  life 
at  night.  They  were  also  trained  to  a  certain  extent 
in  the  old  volunteer  fire  department,  and  the  extant 
militia  regiments,  and  were  generally  possessed  with 
the  belief  that  the  worst  crime  possible  to  a  man  was 
that  of  cowardice. 

Out  of  such  material  as  the  above  was  organized  the 
regiment  here  mentioned,  of  whose  constituent  parts 
a  short  analysis  is  in  order  before  proceeding  to  an 
examination  of  its  history. 

In  the  year  1860  there  was  in  the  city  of  New  York 
a  man  named  William  Wilson,  who  at  the  time  repre 
sented  the  first  ward  of  the  city  as  a  member  of  the 


2o  Preface, 

Board  of  Aldermen.  Mr.  Wilson  was  in  many  ways  a 
marked  sort  of  man.  As  a  politician,  he  had  a  rep 
utation  for  perfect  fairness,  and  for  having  been  proved 
invulnerable  to  bribery.  As  a  man,  he  was  a  dar 
ing  person  of  many  experiences  whose  tastes  were 
strongly  military.  In  fact,  when  President  Lincoln's 
first  call  for  troops  was  made,  he  had  been  for  a  long 
time  a  private,  lieutenant,  and  captain,  in  the  Eighth 
New  York  State  Militia,  at  that  time  a  very  well- 
trained  organization,  and  in  it  Capt.  Wilson's  com 
pany  was  considered  one  of  the  best  drilled  and 
commanded.  Mr.  Wilson,  beside  being  a  soldier  and 
a  politician,  possessed  also  a  statesmanlike  instinct 
and  very  early  in  the  game  foresaw  the  impending 
war.  Like  all  New  Yorkers  of  his  type  he  was  a 
Democrat.  In  fact  he  couldn't  have  been  an  alder 
man  from  the  first  ward  unless  he  had  been  of  that 
political  faith.  Also  he  was  not  an  anti-slavery 
man  ;  it  required  two  years  of  bitter  fighting  to  induce 
the  New  York  city  soldier  to  believe  that  the  aboli 
tion  of  slavery  might  be  at  any  rate  a  good  military 
measure.  But,  outside  and  above  all  these  details,  Mr. 
Wilson  was  an  honest,  valiant  man,  and  a  loyal  citizen, 
and  foreseeing  a  contest — on  which  side  whereof  he 
would  fight  he  very  easily  made  up  his  mind — early 
in  1861  offered  a  full  regiment  to  the  authorities  ; 
and  although  the  times  were  not  then  ripe  for 
acceptance  of  his  offer,  he  had  sufficient  personal 
influence  and  control  to,  when  the  call  was  finally 
made,  raise  what  was  practically  the  first  regiment  of 
the  New  York  Volunteers  to  be  embodied,  although 
owing  to  delays  in  mustering,  the  regiment  lost  its 
proper  title  of  the  1st  New  York  Volunteers. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  2 1 


CHAPTER  I. 

Organization. 

As  has  been  said,  Colonel  Wilson  had  held  himself 
prepared  for  war  since  December,  1860,  and  had 
tendered  a  regiment  to  the  State  as  early  as  the  2Oth 
of  January,  1861,  and  so  it  was  that,  when  on  April 
1 5th  President  Lincoln  issued  his  first  call  for  troops 
to  the  number  of  75,000  men,  Colonel  Wilson  was  in 
condition  to  at  once  open  a  rendezvous  at  No.  618 
Broadway,  and  by  the  evening  of  the  I5th  to  have 
enrolled  850  men. 

Ordinarily,  in  the  early  recruitment  of  volunteer 
regiments,  the  men  were  raised  by  companies  and 
afterward  joined  such  regiments  as  were  most  con 
venient  ;  but  in  the  case  of  the  Sixth  New  York  the 
great  bulk  of  the  first  enlistments  were  made  directly 
by  Colonel  Wilson,  who,  in  the  course  of  his  career 
as  politician  and  militia  officer,  had  won  the  confi 
dence  of  a  great  many  available  men. 

There  were  some  outside  companies  among  them, 
one  lettered  as  I,  and  later  commanded  by  Captain 
Robert  Bailey,  which  came  to  New  York  from  Pater- 
son,  New  Jersey,  with  the  intention  of  joining  the 
Excelsior  Brigade  at  Staten  Island,  but  who  changed 
their  minds  and  enrolled  in  the  Sixth,  which,  as  the 
first  raised  battalion,  should  have  had  the  State 


22  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

number  "  1,"  but  from  some  unexplained  reasons,  lost 
that  honor.  Probably  during  the  early  days,  when 
much  confusion  existed,  there  might  have  been  some 
two  thousand  men  enrolled  in  the  Sixth,  but  many 
of  these  men  before  being  mustered  were  induced 
to  enter  other  organizations.  Still  there  were  men 
enough  and  to  spare,  and  so  soon  as  the  State 
formally  accepted  the  regiment  it  was  mustered  into 
service  :  five  companies  on  April  25th  and  the 
remaining  five  companies  one  month  later. 

A  great  deal  of  absolutely  vicious  nonsense  was 
at  this  time  talked  and  written  about  the  personnel 
of  the  Sixth,  and  the  echoes  of  these  falsehoods 
have  not  died  out  even  to  the  present  day.  It  is 
too  late  at  this  time  to  trace  the  origin  of  these 
stories  ;  probably  they  had  birth  in  the  fertile 
brain  of  some  sensation-hunting  reporter,  and  as  no 
one  took  the  trouble  to  controvert  them  they  nat 
urally  became  stereotyped.  Possibly,  also,  Colonel 
Wilson,  being  possessed  by  that  essentially  American 
cynic  humor  which  often  finds  amusement  in  wild 
exaggeration,  was  rather  amused  at  these  reports. 
However  this  may  be,  the  fact  is  that  the  regiment 
was  most  unjustly  villified,  and  so  in  final  contra 
diction  of  these  slanders  it  is  here  proposed  to  give 
an  analysis  of  the  personnel  of  the  Sixth  as  originally 
organized. 

First,  as  to  the  officers  who  finally  went  to  the 
front.  Of  these  gentlemen  seven  had  served  in  the 
Seventh  Regiment  New  York  State  Militia,  at  that 
time  as  now  considered  the  first  regiment  of  the 
National  Guard,  as  well  in  drill  and  discipline  as  in 
the  social  status  of  its  members.  One  officer,  Colonel 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


Wilson,  had  been  a  captain  in  the  Eighth  Regiment 
New  York  State  Militia,  a  regiment  which  in  those 
days  ran  the  Seventh  very  hard.  Another,  Captain 
R.  H.  Hazeltine,  many  years  in  the  grain  storage 
business,  a  member  of  the  Produce  Exchange  and 
the  Union  League  Club,  came  out  of  the  Seventy- 
First  New  York  State  Militia,  which  was  considered 
by  many  judges  as  equal  in  all  essentials  to  the 
Seventh,  and  which  included  the  noted  "Old  Guard" 
company  of  the  present  clay,  then  known  as  "  Com 
pany  A,"  Seventy-First  Regiment  New  York  State 
Militia.  The  officers  of  the  Sixth  who  came  to  it 
from  the  Seventh  New  York  State  Militia,  were 
Captain  Charles  E.  Heuberer,  a  broker,  for  many 
years  a  member  of  the  New  York  Produce  Exchange, 
and  the  Union  League  Club  ;  Captain  Robert  Bailey, 
a  nephew  of  Rear- Admiral  Bailey,  U.  S.  N.,  at  that 
time  a  railway  accountant  and  since  the  war  a  bank 
officer  and  now  a  clerk  of  the  United  States  District 
Court.  Captain  William  J.  Denslow  at  one  time 
Assistant-Adjutant  General  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  and  at  present  connected  with  the  Clyde  line 
of  steamers  ;  (during  the  war  Captain  Denslow  was 
promoted  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Ninety-First 
Regiment  New  York  Volunteers  and  breveted  colonel 
for  meritorious  service),  and  Captain  J.  C.  Bloomfield. 
Of  lieutenants,  there  were  Thomas  J.  Robarts,  First 
Lieutenant  and  Regimental  Quartermaster,  and  for 
a  time  acting  brigade  and  division  quartermaster, 
to-day  connected  with  a  large  printing  house  ;  First 
Lieutenant  A.  D'  Orville  and  Second  Lieutenant 
Glenn  Putman. 

In    addition    to   the   above    was    First    Lieutenant 


24  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment, 

Richard  W.  Francis,  who  came  out  of  the  Thir 
teenth  Regiment  New  York  State  Militia,  a  Brook 
lyn  regiment,  and  who  has  since  been  a  newspaper 
editor  in  the  South. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  colonel,  one-half  of  the 
captains  and  four  lieutenants  came  from  the  best,  and 
most  self-respecting  regiments  of  the  New  York 
militia,  and  that  the  survivors  of  them  are  to  this  day 
well  placed  and  entirely  reputable  citizens  who  have 
demonstrated  their  ability  not  only  to  serve  the 
country  in  time  of  war,  but  to  conduct  large  business 
enterprises  in  time  of  peace.  Of  the  officers  who  were 
not  taken  from  the  National  Guard,  or  as  it  was  then 
militia  regiments,  there  were  of  field  officers,  Lieuten 
ant-Colonel  M.  Cassady,  an  iron  founder  from  Troy, 
N.  Y.,  who  had  had  militia  training,  and  Major  J. 
W.  Burgess.  While  of  Captains  were  J.  H.  Dobie, 
who  had  held  the  Queen's  commission  and  seen  ser 
vice  in  the  Crimean  war  ;  J.  G.  McNutt,  at  present 
a  lawyer  and  real  estate  agent  in  Troy,  N.  Y.,  who 
joined  the  Sixth  from  one  of  the  regiments  of  New 
York  Volunteers  ;  W.  B.  Kaufman,  at  present  a  city 
office-holder  in  the  tax  department  of  Brooklyn,  and 
H.  L.  Hoelzle,  a  merchant  tailor. 

Among  the  original  lieutenants  were  First  Lieu 
tenant  Moore  Hanham,  a  grandson  of  Captain  Han- 
ham  of  the  old  regular  army,  who  is  now  well  known 
in  chess  circles  ;  Charles  C.  Wildman,  now  in  the  hotel 
business  in  the  south  ;  Robert  Gill,  son  of  a  former 
well  known  piano  manufacturer  ;  and  Oliver  Mathews 
whose  commission  was  procured  by  the  influence  of 
Judge  Roosevelt,  who  rose  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  25 

colonel  and  when  he  died  was  an  extensive  manufac 
turer. 

As  for  the  origin  of  the  men,  there  was  one 
company,  "  K,"  composed  mostly  of  Germans,  while 
the  remaining  nine  companies  were  of  American, 
German-American  and  Irish-American  extraction, 
and  among  them  were  men  of  every  imaginable  pro 
fession.  There  were  artists,  clerks,  lawyers,  certainly 
one  doctor,  stenographers,  and  every  sort  of  mechanic. 
In  fact  the  regiment  always  labored  under  the  dis 
advantage  of  having  in  its  ranks  so  many  trained 
specialists  that  its  detail  for  special  duty  tended  to 
be  disproportionately  large.  In  addition  to  this  the 
Sixth  counted  among  its  enlisted  men  quite  a  number 
who  had  seen  service  in  foreign  armies. 

Several  of  the  original  men  of  the  Sixth  have 
since  served  in  both  army  and  navy  ;  others  have 
become  men  of  wealth  and  substance  in  civil  life, 
and  generally  speaking,  so  far  as  known,  the  present 
status  of  the  survivors  of  the  Sixth  is  sufficiently 
good  to  be  in  itself  an  entire  refutation  of  the  fal 
lacious  reports  mentioned  above. 

On  April  24th,  the  first  five  companies  were  en 
camped  on  the  old  Quarantine  ground  on  Staten 
Island,  and  were  at  once  placed  under  discipline  and 
drill,  which  gave  to  their  volunteer  minds  a  very 
strong  impression  of  the  responsibilities  that  they  had 
assumed.  At  intervals  of  a  few  weeks  the  remaining 
companies  reported  and  found  themselves  under  the 
strict  rules  of  the  "lex  militarium"  by  which  the 
Blue  Book  becomes  a  Bible  and  the  regulations  of 
drill  a  manual  of  Common  Prayer,  while  at  the  same 


26  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


time  the  impression  is  forced  on  the  ex-civilian  mind 
that  there  are  differences  between  men  in  civil  garb 
and  he  who  wears  the  blue  and  brass.  For  while  the 
first  is  only  amenable  to  a  jury  of  his  peers,  the  other 
has  no  peers  who  have  anything  to  do  in  his  govern 
ance,  but  only  superiors,  ranging  from  corporals  up 
to  secretaries  of  war,  presidents  and  such  function 
aries,  who  are  in  their  turn  only  the  servants  of  the 
nation  at  large. 

Companies  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  having  been  mustered 
and  sworn  into  service  on  the  25th  of  April,  iS6i> 
(immediately  following  the  formal  acceptance  of  the 
regiment  by  the  State,  of  date  of  April  24th,)  the 
remaining  companies — F,  G,  H,  I  and  K — came  into 
camp,  and  after  some  delays  were  finally  mustered  on 
the  25th  May.  The  original  commissions  of  officers 
being  dated  April  3Oth. 

June  1 5th,  the  regiment  packed  its  kit  and  formed 
up  to  march  to  the  ferry-boat  en  route  for  New  York. 
While  these  evolutions  were  in  progress  a  very  pretty 
refutation  was  given  to  the  current  newspaper  slurs 
about  the  character  of  the  Sixth,  by  the  ladies  of 
Staten  Island,  who,  of  all  fortunes  and  positions,  vied 
one  with  the  other  in  garlanding  the  column,  so  that 
the  stalwart  men  in  the  ranks  had  bouquets  in  their 
musket  muzzles,  and  the  officers  and  file  closers  were 
puzzled  to  find  buttonholes  in  which  to  place  their 
floral  trophies.  So,  flower-adorned,  and  with  multi 
tudinous  wishes  for  good  speed  and  good  luck  behind 
them,  the  Sixth  came  up  to  New  York  on  the  old 
steamer  Maryland,  with  the  bright  bay,  the  green 
shores,  the  smokes  of  houses  and  factories,  all  saying, 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  27 


''You  may  not  exactly  see  it,  but  this  is  all  worth 
fighting  for." 

Appreciating  heartily  such  manifestations  of  regard 
the  gallant  Sixth  came  to  town  in  a  satisfied  frame 
of  mind,  especially  as  General  (then  Colonel)  W.  B. 
Franklin,  U.  S.  A.,  had  notified  its  colonel  that 
under  instructions  from  Colonel  Townsend,  Chief  of 
General  Winfield  Scott's  staff,  and,  by  designation  of 
the  Governor  of  the  State,  the  regiment  had  been 
assigned  for  especial  duty,  and  that  he  personally  was 
pleased  to  receive  said  orders  and  assignment,  as  he 
"  fully  believed  that  no  regiment  from  the  State  is 
better  fitted  for  going  on  this  expedition,  on  account 
of  its  discipline  and  good  spirit."' 

Arrived  at  New  York,  the  regiment  was  marched 
to  No.  63  Clinton  Place,  where  the  Reverend  S.  H. 
Weston,  then,  and  to  the  time  of  his  death,  Chaplain 
of  the  Seventh  Regiment,  New  York  State  Militia, 
addressed  the  battalion  in  fervent  and  patriotic 
language,  antecedent  to  the  presentation  of  the 
United  States  colors  at  the  hands  of  Mrs.  George 
Strong,  on  behalf  of  the  ladies  of  the  City  of  New 
York.  Col.  Wilson  replied  to  address  and  presenta 
tion  in  appropriate  .terms. 

[The  following  are  from  minutes  taken  at  the  time.] 

"  The  Sixth  Regiment  arrived  from  Staten  Island, 
at  the  foot  of  I4th  Street,  New  York,  and  pro 
ceeded  through  1 4th  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue  to 
No.  63  Clinton  Place,  where  a  magnificent  silk 

*  For  full  text  of  this  order  see  Appendix  No.  I. 


28  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


banner  was  to  be  presented  by  the  ladies  of  the 
relief  committee.  On  arriving  at  the  house  the 
men  were  disposed  in  line,  the  officers  in  front, 
and  surrounded  by  a  large  concourse  of  people. 

"  Rev.  S.  H.  WESTON,  Chaplain  of  the  Seventh 
Regiment  New  York  State  Militia,  accompanied  by 
Mrs.  GEORGE  STRONG,  who  held  the  banner,  pro 
ceeded  to  present  it  in  the  following  speech  : 

ADDRESS    OF    DOCTOR   WESTON. 

"Fellow  Soldiers: — I  say  fellow  soldiers,  for  we 
are  all  comrades  in  this  holy  war.  I  have  been 
requested  by  the  fair  donors  to  address  to  you  a  few 
words  on  the  presentation  of  this  flag.  I  trust  you 
appreciate  this  beautiful  flag  as  thoroughly  as  I 
do  being  allowed  the  honor  of  participating  in  this 
interesting  ceremony.  Fellow  soldiers,  this  standard 
of  our  beloved  country  is  committed  to  your  care. 
It  is  a  precious  charge,  for  it  is  an  emblem  of  your 
country's  integrity  and  renown.  See  to  it  then  that 
these  stars  ever  float  over  your  heads  as  bright  and 
pure  as  those  above.  If  you  come  back  victorious, 
which  God  grant,  a  grateful  people  will  know  how  to 
honor  the  brave,  and  hail  your  return  with  thunders 
of  applause.  The  eyes  of  the  whole  people  will 
be  upon  you.  The  lovers  of  freedom  in  all  lands 
will  watch  the  strife  with  tearful  eyes  and  beating 
hearts.  This  flag  is  the  exponent  of  liberty  ;  the 
hope  of  humanity.  Every  thread  in  that  flag  has  a 
tongue  eloquent  of  human  liberty  and  reminds  you 
of  the  priceless  legacy  bequeathed  to  you  by  your 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  29 

fathers,  every  stitch  is  eloquent  of  canonized 
Lexington,  Bunker  Hill,  Saratoga,  and  Yorktown. 
They  adjure  you  by  the  memories  of  your  heroic 
sires,  by  their  suffering,  toil  and  blood,  not  to  suffer 
it  to  be  dishonored.  The  ring  of  your  battle-cry 
will  be  louder  and  clearer,  your  hearts  firmer,  your 
arms  stronger,  when  it  leads  you  on.  But  I  adjure 
you,  comrades,  in  the  soldier  do  not  forget  the 
Christian  and  the  man  ;  war  too  often  appeals  to  the 
worst  passions  of  our  nature,  and  tends  to  deaden 
the  sensibilities,  brutalize  the  heart,  and  make  even 
the  compassionate  cruel.  In  the  heat  then  of 
victorious  fight,  ever  remember  mercy.  Be  a  mag 
nanimous  enemy  in  the  hour  of  triumph — you  may 
disdain  to  ask  quarter  for  yourselves,  but  never 
refuse  it  to  a  suppliant  or  prostrate  foe.  Let  no 
wanton  cruelty  stain  the  laurels  you  may  win. 
Imitate  the  great  Captain  when  about  to  rush  into  a 
great  conflict;  you  can  remember  it,  "  Oh  my  God, 
if  I  forget  you  this  day,  do  not  forget  me."  Pray 
then  yourselves,  and  dear  ones  at  home  will  pray  for 
you.  And  now  God  be  with  you,  and  bear  your  shield 
and  buckler  against  all  your  foes,  temporal  or  spiritual, 
and  return  to  your  homes  conquerors  for  humanity's 
sake,  your  country's  sake,  conquerors  for  Christ's 
sake,  AMEN." 

''Colonel  WILSON  received  the  banner  from  the 
hands  of  Mrs.  GEORGE  STRONG,  and  carrying  it  into 
the  ranks,  gave  it  into  the  hands  of  the  color- 
sergeant,  then  returned  to  the  front  of  the  steps, 
both  of  them  grasping  the  banner  of  liberty.  The 
Colonel  seemed  deeply  affected,  and  his  utterance  was 


30  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


choked  for  some  time.  His  wife  stood  on  the  steps 
regarding  him  with  tearful  emotion.  At  length  he 
summoned  courage  and  spoke  as  follows  : 

REPLY    OF   COLONEL   WILSON. 

"  I  can  hardly  speak  ;  utterance  has  been  taken 
from  me.  When  I  see  my  wife,  when  I  see  the  ladies 
of  New  York  City  who  have  done  so  much  for  our 
cause,  I  have  to  say  of  that  flag,  that  I  love  it  better 
than  my  wife  or  child  :  better  than  I  love  her,  my 
wife,  do  I  love  the  honor  of  that  flag.  For  my  God 
first,  for  my  country  next,  and  for  my  family  next. 
(Cheers.)  I  have  sacrificed  everything  except  my 
God  for  that  flag,  (cheers),  and  I  do  believe  as 
enthusiastically  as  did  the  men  who  went  to  Palestine 
to  fight,  that  the  man  who  fights  for  that  flag 
although  he  dies,  dies  holy  and  fighting  for  the 
Almighty,  (enthusiastic  cheering).  1  feel  this  in  my 
heart  ;  I  can  hardly  speak,  for  I  know  not  what  I 
had  to  say,  but  what  I  do  say  I  say  from  my  heart 
and  it  is  as  God  directs  me.  This  is  a  war  for  the 
intelligence,  for  the  freedom  of  the  world,  not  for 
this  country  alone.  It  is  a  war  to  protect  women  and 
children,  that  the  liberties  of  the  people  may  be 
protected  in  spite  of  aristocrats  or  traitors,  (cheers). 
I  love  my  wife  and  child  second  to  my  flag,  which 
I  am  ready  to  defend  and  die  for  (cheers).  The 
ladies  of  New  York,  God  bless  them,  for  they  are 
Heaven  born  angels,  they  have  proved  Heaven  born 
angels  to  me  to  bless  and  protect  the  poor  traveller 
as  he  passes  through  the  world.  My  men  are  such 
men  as  guarded  the  liberty  of  this  country,  such  as 


Historv  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  31 


those  who  protected  the  liberties  of  England,  and  made 
the  king  sign  magna  charta  ;  (cheers)  they  are 
such  men  as  made  Rome  a  republic,  and  fought  for 
liberty  in  France,  (cheers).  They  are  the  sons  of 
Abraham,  who  went  forth  to  fight  the  Philistines.  I 
love  that  flag  (pointing  to  the  banner)  and  though  I 
go  upon  the  torrid  sanely  beach  of  Pensacola,  and  die 
there,  though  I  go  on  the  plains  of  Texas,  it  matters 
not.  If  I  go  to  Virginia  and  gain  renown,  it  is 
well ;  but  wherever  we  are  told  to  go,  we  will  go  there, 
as  long  as  it  is  for  the  honor  and  perpetuity  of  the 
flag,  the  freedom  of  the  world,  and  the  protection 
of  the  beautiful  City  of  New  York.  (Tremendous 
cheering).  That  man  (pointing  to  the  standard 
bearer)  will  carry  that  flag  and  when  he  goes  another 
will  carry  it  who  will  not  be  afraid  of  ten  thousand 
traitors,  (cheers),  and  when  he  dies  every  man  will 
jump  to  grasp  that  flag,  (cheers).  Ladies,  I  thank 
you  from  the  inmost  recesses  of  my  heart,  and 
I  express  every  feeling  in  full  of  my  gallant  officers, 
and  my  devoted  and  patriotic  men.  (Loud  ap 
plause)." 

After  the  presentation,  the  regiment,  in  platoon 
fronts,  in  full  strength,  attired  in  their  gray  jackets 
furnished  by  the  State  which  were  of  the  very  worst 
sort  of  shoddy  cloth,  marched  down  Broadway  with 
a  brass  band  at  the  head  and  a  double  line  of  packed 
and  cheering  sidewalks  on  the  flanks,  to  Pier  No.  I, 
North  River,  and  from  there  were  transferred  by  tug 
to  the  steamer  "  Vanderbilt "  then  lying  in  the  stream. 

The  city  had  been  by  this  time  accustomed  to 
bodies  of  troops  arriving  from  the  North  and  East, 


32  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


daily  marching  through  Broadway,  but  this  was  a 
city  regiment,  its  name  was  a  city  name,  and  its 
officers  and  men  were  mostly  city  men.  This  was 
apparent  when,  arriving  at  the  wharf,  they  were 
met  by  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  people  bearing 
gifts  of  food  and  other  things  to  make  them  comfort 
able  on  a  sea  voyage  ;  and  after  the  men  were  taken 
from  the  tugs  on  board  the  vessel  the  myriads  of 
small  boats  around  her  made  quite  a  lively  picture. 
Many  pathetic  scenes  were  witnessed  which  have 
never  been  forgotten.  Many  a  man  on  board  that 
day — young,  well,  hearty — never  returned  from  the 
Southern  lands.  But,  on  both  sides,  those  who  re 
mained  at  home  and  those  who  departed,  believed  that 
their  duty  led  them  on,  and  were  content. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


33 


CHAPTER  II. 

Voyage  to  Santa  Rosa  Island,  Florida. 

The  "  Vanderbilt,  then  a  side-wheel  steamer  (and 
now,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Three  Brothers,"  a 
clipper  ship  of  the  largest  size),  was  in  her  day  the 
biggest,  finest  and  fastest  of  ocean  steamer.s,  and  her 
owner,  Commodore  Vanderbilt,  at  a  later  date  pre 
sented  her  to  the  government  as  the  most  efficient 
vessel  extant.  Such  being  the  quality  of  the  craft, 
the  Sixth  was  spared  the  countless  miseries  which 
befell  other  unhappy  battalions  whom  an  errant  fate 
sent  wandering  down  the  Atlantic  Coast  in  all  sorts 
and  kinds  of  unseaworthy  and  over-crowded  ships. 
On  the  contrary,  the  "Vanderbilt"  was  big  enough 
for  several  regiments,  so  that  the  officers  had  each 
and  several  a  state-room,  and  the  berth-deck  was  so 
free  that  a  seasick  man  could  be  wretched  privately 
and  alone  without  obtruding  his  woes  on  the  atten 
tion  of  more  fortunate  friends. 

And  so,  on  June  I5th,  the  "Vanderbilt"  got  up  her 
anchor  and  steamed  down  the  bay,  through  the  nar 
rows  and  out  to  sea.  Vanished  the  docks  and 
chimneys  of  New  York,  next  the  green  hills  of 
Staten  Island,  and,  finally,  even  low  Sandy  Hook  got 
itself  out  of  sight;  and,  as  the  big  ship,  with  her  nose 
pointed  South,  began  to  pitch  into  the  seas  and  to 


34  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


roll  herself  playfully,  a  great  many  members  of  the 
Sixth  began  to  wish  that  their  military  service  had 
not  been  prefaced  by  a  sea  voyage,  and  to  be  of  the 
opinion  that  a  bullet  through  the  brain,  or  a  bayonet 
in  the  stomach,  would  be  a  pleasant  boon  as  com 
pared  with  a  really  sharp  turn  of  seasickness. 

However,  the  "  Vanderbilt "  didn't  care;  her  head 
was  pointed  South,  and  Colonel  Wilson  and  the 
Captain  of  the  ship  read  the  sealed  orders,  and  knew 
that  Fort  Pickens  was  the  bound  port  of  the  voyage. 

And  a  very  funny  voyage  it  was,  when  one  thinks 
of  it  at  this  distance  of  time  ;  for,  after  passing  by 
Capes  Charles  and  Henry,  the  whole  shore — and 
that  the  shore  of  one's  own  country — was  absolutely 
hostile  ;  buoys  removed,  and  a  rebel  bayonet  ready  to 
welcome  the  shipwrecked  mariner  at  every  turn. 
Still  the  ship  paddled  steadily  on  past  the  Cape,  past 
Hatteras,  past  St.  Augustine,  then  an  old  Spanish 
Minorcan  town,  with  an  odd  old-fashioned  coquina 
fort  and  a  singularly  hideous  cathedral  for  sole  attrac 
tions,  and  now  with  an  amount  of  money  invested  in 
one  single  hotel  that  would  in  '61  well  nigh  have 
bought  the  fee-simple  of  the  State. 

And  then  around  Canaverel,  and  by  Key  West, 
"lapped  in  the  warm  washings  of  the  Gulf,"  up  to 
Santa  Rosa,  where  the  big  ship  let  go  her  anchor 
on  the  outside  of  the  Island,  and  landed  the  regiment 
in  varied  conditions  of  moistness  consequent  on  the 
differing  abilities  of  the  crews  of  the  ship's  boats  in 
the  way  of  surf  navigation.  Finally,  the  battalion 
scrambled  ashore  and  was  greeted  by  its  advance 
guard,  sent  before  to  prepare  the  site  of  the  camp. 
This  party,  in  order  to  avoid  sand-blindness,  had 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


covered  the  blazing  ground  with  pine  boughs,  and  its 
members  had  also  taken  unto  themselves  beautiful 
sunburns,  blistered  and  skinned,  as  an  evidence  of 
what  the  sun's  rays  can  achieve  in  a  Florida  June  on 
Northern-born  skins. 

So  soon  as  the  tents  were  pitched,  the  company 
streets  were  shaded  with  arbors  of  branches,  and  it 
was  these  shelters  which  had  become  dry  that  made 
it  so  easy  to  fire  the  camp  at  the  time  of  the  attack, 
October  Qth,  1861. 

The  voyage  had  been  as  comfortable  as  a  sea 
voyage  in  a  transport  can  possibly  be;  but,  neverthe 
less,  it  proved  too  hard  for  one  unfortunate,  private 
Patrick  Lynes,  of  Captain  Heuberer's  company  who 
sought  a  haven  of  rest  in  the  sea.  With  this  excep 
tion  the  regiment  endured  its  voyage  perfectly  well 
and  landed  in  good  health,  as  the  sanitation  of  the 
ship  and  the  proper  details  for  guard  and  police 
duty  under  the  officers  of  the  clay  had  been  regular 
ly  made,  and  the  discipline  of  the  service  properly 
enforced. 

Also,  the  regimental  goat,  "  Billy,"  notwithstand 
ing  his  having  been  fed  on  a  diet  composed  of  fine 
cut  tobacco  and  sea  biscuit,  landed  in  full  butting 

o 

condition.  By  the  way,  in  this  connection  it  is  well 
to  mention  that  this  goat  which,  like  Captain  Powers' 
father  in  Charley  O'Malley,  "  cared  little  for  shot  and 
shell,  still  less  for  death  or  danger,"  remained  for  a 
long  time  the  pride  and  glory  of  the  regiment,  and, 
as  seven  cities  claimed  Homer  as  a  citizen,  so  nearly 
all  of  the  survivors  of  the  Sixth  claim  the  genesis  of 
"  Billy."  So  far  as  can  be  at  this  date  ascertained  he 


36  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

was  probably  acquired  surreptitiously,  but,  at  the 
same  time,  he  was  a  goat  to  be  remembered.  It  may 
be  further  stated  that  this  goat  went  through  more 
than  two  years'  service,  always  with  the  regiment, 
often  carried  in  wagons  when  showing  fatigue,  and 
at  the  time  of  the  regiment's  return  to  New  York,  his 
neck  and  horns  were  decorated  with  ribbons  and  he 
marched  up  Broadway  as  proudly  as  any  of  the 
command. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  39 


CHAPTER  III. 

Santa  Rosa  and  who  we  found  there. 

By  the  26th  of  June  the  regiment  had  got  through 
its  preliminary  miseries.  It  had  been  wetted  in 
the  surf,  it  had  waded  through  the  loose  sand,  and 
it  had  established  itself  in  an  orthodox  regulation 
camp  one  mile  east  of  Fort  Pickens.  Column  of 
companies  right  in  front,  officers  line  on  the  right, 
color  line  on  the  left,  and  all  accessories  in  regulation 
shape.  Also  the  regiment  had  reported  to  Harvey 
Brown,  Esq.,  Colonel  of  the  Fifth  United  States 
Artillery,  Brevet  Brigadier-General  United  States 
Army,  and  in  comand  of  the  Department  of  the 
Gulf.  Now  General  Brown  aforesaid  was  an  old 
timer,  "  of  the  old  army,  sir,"  not  very  tall,  and 
rather  slender,  but  straight,  and  rigid,  with  a  positive 
stubby  grey  moustache  outlining  a  firm  mouth. 
Hard  in  discipline,  upright,  and  honorable  in 
character,  and  possessed  entirely  of  the  idea  that 
the  service  comes  first,  and  everything  else  second. 
Naturally  Colonel  Brown  loathed  volunteers.  In  fact 
he  didn't  know  anything  about  them,  and  one  of  the 
best  claims  of  the  Sixth  to  merit  is,  that  by  dint 
of  good  conduct,  and  high  military  spirit,  it  actually 
overcame  the  born  and  set  prejudices  of  this  fine 
old  gentleman  and  soldier,  and  finally  won  his 


4O  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

approval  ;  which,  be  it  here  remarked,  is  as  near  an 
approach  to  a  miracle  as  anything  ye.t  recorded  in 
the  annals  of  the  United  States. 

In  those  days  Santa  Rosa  Island  was  an  absolutely 
regular-army  post.  It  had  been  held  against  the 
first  tentatives  of  the  Confederates  by  its  small 
artillery  garrison,  which  had  been  reinforced  early 
in  the  war  by  troops  brought  down  on  the  United 
States  Steamer  Powhatan,  at  the  time  when  Mr. 
Lincoln  took  matters  in  his  own  hand,  and,  without 
consulting  his  secretaries,  ordered  admiral,  then 
Lieutenant  Porter,  to,  as  it  were,  surreptitiously, 
purloin  the  Powhatan,  and  relieve  beleagured  Fort 
Pickens.*  As  the  regular  army  at  that  time  was 
decidedly  short  of  men,  and  long  of  officers,  the  staff 
of  the  department  in  those  days  was  full  in  numbers, 
and  of  unusual  qualities. 

Although  this  is  a  history  of  the  adventures  and 
services  of  a  volunteer  regiment,  it  seems  eminently 
proper  in  this  place  to  give  a  few  sketches  of  the 
personnel  and  characters  of  the  accomplished  gentle 
men  and  officers  who  at  that  time  made  up  the  staff 
at  Fort  Pickens. 

At  the  head  of  General  Brown's  staff  and  second 
in  rank  among  the  regular  officers,  was  Major  Israel 
Vogdes  of  the  first  United  States  Artillery,  a  steady, 
severe,  eccentric,  and  thoroughly  conscientious 
veteran.  Next  came  Horace  Brooks,  Lewis  G. 
Arnold  and  Z.  B.  Tower,  all  destined  to  win  spurs  on 
wider  and  bloodier  fields  than  those  afforded  by 
Santa  Rosa  Island.  And  of  the  tht-n  youngsters 
there  were — how  death  has  thinned  their  ranks — of 

*  See  Appendix  No.  2. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  4 1 


engineers,  MacFarland,  only  lately  dead  in  the 
full  strength  of  his  distinguished  professional  abilities, 
and  Godfrey  Weitzel,  who  went  from  lieutenant  to 
brigadier  and  showed  his  ability  as  a  separate  com 
mander  in  one  short  year's  time.  Besides  these, 
there  were  the  gunners,  and  a  very  distinguished  lot 
they  were,  and  very  good  friends  we  found  them, 
always  ready  to  fraternize  socially,  and  always  ready 
to  explain  any  knotty  point  of  discipline,  papers,  or 
regulation.  It  was  in  fact  a  singularly  strong  staff, 
when  one  considers  that  on  it  was  Barry,  afterward  a 
major-general  of  artillery  who  handled  the  guns  for 
both  McClellan  and  Sherman  ;  staunch  old  James 
M.  Robinson  of  horse-battery  fame  ;  A.  C.  M.  Pen- 
nington,  horse-gunner,  cavalry-man,  good  soldier,  and 
good  fellow  always,  and  everywhere.  H.  W.  Closson, 
one  of  the  regiment's  best  friends,  and  a  chief  of 
artillery  of  high  repute.  L.  L.  Langdon,  now  by 
good  fortune  still  on  duty,  and  a  colonel  of  artillery. 
Dear  Frank  Taylor  beloved  by  everybody.  Hildt, 
General  Hancock's  trusted  aid.  Duryea,  Chalfin, 
Shipley,  Jackson,  Lamed,  Gibbs,  of  after  cavalry 
fame  ;  Seeley,  who  was  adjutant-general  of  the 
department.  Heaton,  Ramsay,  Duer,  and  all  the  rest, 
all  worthy  of  affectionate  reminiscence. 

In  this  place  it  is  proper  to  note  the  adventures  of 
Company  B  and  Company  E,  which  in  June  were 
ordered  to  Fort  Jefferson  on  the  Dry  Tortugas  ; 
and  Company  A,  which  on  the  2Qth  August  was  sent 
to  Key  West. 

The  detail  of  these  companies  was  in  a  way  unfor 
tunate,  as  it  depleted  the  regiment  and  deprived 


42  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

the  detailed  companies  of  the  advantages  to  be 
derived  from  the  close  association  which  is  so 
essential  to  regimental  life.  But  on  the  other  hand, 
these  companies  were  given  the  educational  advan 
tages  of  the  closest  possible  association  with  very 
good  regular  soldiers.  And  very  good  these  latter 
were.  They  were  regulars  of  the  old  army,  two  or 
three  enlistment  men,  men  whose  lives  had  been 
devoted  to  the  service,  and  whose  whole  existence 
had  been  military.  Hardened  veterans,  who  had 
marched,  only  ten  thousand  strong,  under  Scott, 
from  Vera  Cruz  to  Mexico,  breaking  to  pieces  and 
trampling  under  foot  all  opposition.  Men  who  had 
protected  the  frontier  settlements,  and  the  train 
routes  across  the  plains  against  the  Indians,  until 
they  had,  besides  being  highly  trained  regulars, 
become  adept  frontiersmen;  and  besides,  and  above 
all,  these  old-timers  had  imbibed  such  an  intense 
devotion  to  flag  and  country,  that  at  the  time  of  the 
Twiggs  surrender  in  Texas  these  loyal  men,  deserted 
by  most  of  their  officers,  resisted  and  declined  every 
offer  of  rank  and  pay  made  by  the  Confederate 
agents,  and  brought  away  their  faith  and  honor 
untarnished. 

These  men  were  a  melange  of  Americans,  Germans 
and  Irishmen,  but  all  of  them  by  dint  of  hard  service 
under  cultivated  officers  had  become  men  whose 
religion  was  the  flag  and  their  orders,  and  who  were 
letter  perfect  in  the  details  of  drill,  discipline  and 
cleanliness. 

Contact  with  these  people  inspired  the  Sixth  with 
an  intense  spirit  of  rivalry.  As  the  regulars  with  pol 
ished  arms  and  accoutrements,  marched  and  bore 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  43 


themselves,  so  the  men  of  the  Sixth  aspired  to  do,  and 
it  was  not  long  before  the  regular  adjutants  began  to 
find,  when  guards  were  mounted  and  orderlies  were 
to  be  selected  from  the  cleanest  and  most  soldierly 
men  of  the  detail,  that  a  Sixth  man  was  eligible  about 
as  often  as  a  regular.  In  fact,  the  regular  officers 
soon  began  to  be  unable  to  tell  the  difference  between 
their  own  people  and  the  men  of  the  Sixth.  On  one 
occasion  even  that  very  gallant  and  competent 
artillerist,  Captain,  now  Colonel,  Loomis  L.  Langdon 
walking  around  the  works  of  Jefferson,  wanted  to 
wager,  against  the  statement  of  Lieutenant  William  J. 
Denslow  of  the  Sixth,  that  private  Thomas  Smith  of 
that  regiment,  who  was  pacing  his  sentry  beat,  was  a 
regular,  and  only  an  inspection  of  cap  letters  could 
convince  the  West  Pointer.  Besides  all  this  instruc 
tion  in  the  duties  of  the  infantry  soldier,  the  men  of 
the  Sixth,  both  at  Pickens,  Jefferson  and  Key  West, 
were  turned  into  well-drilled  heavy  artillery.  They 
worked  side  by  side  with  the  regulars  in  ordnance  duty^ 
and  their  officers  were  placed  on  rosters  for  officers  of 
the  day  or  guard,  courts-martial  and  the  like  details, 
until,  after  a  few  months,  it  was  impossible  to  tell  one 
man's  performance  from  another's,  and  the  utmost 
cordiality  and  friendship  maintained. 

In  fact,  so  much  credit  did  the  Sixth,  officers  and 
men,  win,  that  at  Fort  Jefferson,  Lieutenant  William 
J.  Denslow,  of  Company  B,  was  ordered  to  the  duty 
of  post  adjutant  and  post  ordnance  officer  for  the 
entire  garrison  ;  the  latter  billet  being  a  most  impor 
tant  one,  as  Fort  Jefferson  was  in  those  days  the 
ordnance  depot  for  the  entire  department,  and  was 


44  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

filled    with    powder,    shot,    shell    and    small    stores 
appertaining  to  that  corps. 

July  i6th,  a  further  process  of  disintegration  set  in 
which,  although  flattering  for  the  officers  and  men 
selected  for  detail,  was  not  conducive  to  the  best 
interests  of  the  regiment;  for  there  is  nothing  more 
axiomatic  in  military  affairs  than  that  the  more  a 
regiment  is  kept  together  under  its  own  officers  and 
acting  as  a  unit,  the  better  regiment  it  is  likely  to  be. 
However,  an  order  was  issued,  and  Company  G,  com 
manded  by  Captain  J.  H.  Dobie,  was  again  detached 
to  Battery  Lincoln,  one  of  the  newly-established  out 
works  of  Fort  Pickens. 

A  little  later,  August  8th,  Company  I,  Captain 
Robert  Bailey,  went  temporarily  out  of  its  proper 
regimental  fold  and  found  an  habitation  at  Battery 
Cameron,  another  newly-established  outpost  of  Fort 
Pickens. 

August  29th,  the  draft  on  the  Sixth  was  still  further 
intensified  by  the  detail  of  Company  A,  Captain  J.  W. 
Burgess,  for  duty  at  Key  West,  a  position  which 
might  have  been  perfectly  occupied  and  held  by  one 
converted  freight  steamer  in  the  harbor,  with  a 
sergeant's  guard  of  marines  on  shore  for  police  duty. 

During  all  this  time  the  Sixth  was  getting  some 
what  used  to,  and  day  by  day  more  disgusted  with, 
Santa  Rosa  and  the  surroundings  thereof.  Santa 
Rosa  Island  is  one  of  the  multitudinous  outlying 
sandbars  which  fence  our  coast  from  Long  Island  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande.  The  character  of 
these  sand  islands  is  all  alike.  The  wash  from  the 
shore  brings  down  silt  ;  the  heave  of  the  ocean  raises 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  45 


up  sand  ;  and  when  the  conflicting  forces  meet  and 
neutralize  one  another  a  deposit  of  material  is 
effected  which  in  time  becomes  an  island,  always 
shifting  and  being  washed,  but  integrally  the  same 
island,  separated  from  its  neighbors  by  inlets  where 
the  land  and  sea  waters  meet,  and  which  continually 
alter  and  change  their  position  and  depth. 

In  the  north  these  sand  islands  are  barren  of  all 
things  vegetable,  except  perhaps  a  little  bent  grass, 
but  in  the  far  south  the  tropical  suns  and  rains  assert 
their  power,  and  these  outlying  sand  ridges  carry  more 
or  less  of  growth.  So  Santa  Rosa  Island,  lying  in  the 
warm  water  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  showed  a  good 
deal  of  scrub,  and  at  its  eastern  end  some  trees. 
Besides  this,  in  its  lagoons,  the  island  possessed 
alligators,  and  in  its  sand  there  were  infinite  sand 
fleas  of  a  disagreeable  personality,  chameleon  lizards 
rather  entertaining  than  otherwise,  and  a  lively 
population  of  moccason  and  rattle  snakes.  Add  to 
this  the  fact  that  the  \vater,  being  sea  water  filtered 
through  the  sand,  was  productive  of  intestinal  troubles, 
and  that  the  sun  glared  alike  on  white  sand  and  blue 
water,  and  which  ever  one  of  them  a  man  looked 
upon  his  tired  eyes  wished  that  he  had  looked  upon 
the  other,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  lines  of  the  Sixth 
were  not  all  together  cast  in  pleasant  places,  and  that 
a  position  in  a  good  brigade  in  a  marching  army, 
engaged  in  active  operations,  would  have  been  far 
preferable  to  such  a  military  monastery  as  was  Santa 
Rosa  Island  in  1861.  However  the  Sixth  grinned  and 
bore  it.  It  growled,  but  it  went.  Drill  and  duty 
went  on  steadily  with  markedly  good  results  and  in 
the  intervals  men  picked  up  such  amusements  as 


46  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

offered  themselves,  and  very  stupid  ones  they  were 
—in  fact  the  regimental  goat  and  his  antics  were 
perhaps  the  most  interesting  subjects  of  conversation 
in  those  days. 

Dismal  as  Santa  Rosa  was  as  a  residence  it 
had  in  those  times  a  great  national  importance, 
for  Santa  Rosa  Island  not  only  covers  but  forms 
the  harbor  of  Pensacola,  and  on  it  is  a  fortification 
called  Fort  Pickens,  then  a  work  of  large  pre 
tensions,  which  having  been  originally  constructed 
to  keep  hostile  fleets  away  from  the  town  and  naval 
establishments  at  Pensacola,  was  in  1861,  alas  for  the 
change,  devoted  to  keeping  our  erring  brethren  on 
the  mainland  from  getting  free  access  to  the  open  sea. 

Now  the  astute  statesmen  and  soldiers  who  formed 
the  first  Confederate  Congress  which  met  at  Mont 
gomery,  Alabama,  early  in  1861,  had  promptly 
recognized  the  importance  of  Santa  Rosa  Island,  and 
as  soon  as  possible  when  they  had  in  hand  a 
certain  number  of  men,  called  by  courtesy  soldiers, 
they  ordered  Mr.  Braxton  Bragg  (hero  of  the  lie,  of  a 
"little  more  grape  Captain  Bragg"),  to  take  these 
unorganized  armed  citizens  down  to  Pensacola,  and 
to  seize  the  navy  yard,  the  stores,  and  also  Santa 
Rosa  Island. 

This  programme  of  the  Montgomery  Congress  was 
partially  carried  out.  Ex-Captain  Bragg  got  his 
people  in  motion  (how  his  martinet  soul  must 
have  been  outraged  by  the  military  performances  of 
his  host,)  and  easily  seized  the  Pensacola  Navy  Yard, 
with  ordnance  and  other  stores  of  much  value,  and 
also  Forts  McRae  and  Barrancas,  which  secured  the 
shore  side  of  the  harbor.  Then  Bragg  aforesaid, 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  47 

essayed  for  Fort  Pickens  ;  but  Fort  Pickens  had  a 
garrison,  while  the  other  works  were  each  held 
by  an  ordnance-sergeant  and  his  family.  Now  this 
garrison  consisted  of  a  simple  company  of  the  United 
States  Artillery,  commanded  by  a  faithful  stalwart 
lieutenant  called  Adam  Slemmer.  Lieutenant 
Slemmer  had  been  in  command  at  Barrancas,  but 
like  an  astute  man,  and  good  soldier,  he  had  smelt 
the  coming  trouble,  and  in  order  to  hold  his  position 
to  the  last  had  early  withdrawn  his  little  garrison  to 
Fort  Pickens,  and  put  a  wide  breadth  of  bay  between 
himself  and  his  emeny. 

Easily  as  Bragg  had  occupied  Pensacola,  he  felt 
that  an  attempt  to  cross  the  bay  and  carry  Fort 
Pickens,  in  the  face  of  a  small  regular  garrison  com 
manded  by  a  resolute  man,  would,  to  the  unorganized 
troops  then  under  his  command,  be  a  hard  task. 
Therefore,  he  hesitated,  organized,  drilled  and  wasted 
his  time,  until  President  Lincoln  (as  before  stated) 
took  the  bull  by  the  horns  and  reinforced  the  port  on 
his  own  proper  responsibility. 

During  all  this  time  there  had  been  many  ex 
changes  of  flags  and  protocols,  but  there  hadn't  been 
any  fighting  ;  and,  as  it  fell  out,  the  first  shot  fired 
during  the  Santa  Rosa  campaign,  and  the  first  belli 
cose  shot  ever  heard  by  the  Sixth,  was  fired  by  Jacob 
H.  Theberath,  of  Company  I,  from  battery  Cameron. 
The  occasion  was  this.  The  Confederates  had 
equipped  and  commissioned  a  vessel,  and  with  her 
contemplated  a  raid  into  the  Gulf.  Colonel  Brown 
being  wofully  short  of  ammunition  at  the  time,  and 
recognizing  the  fact  that  while  there  were  on  the 
enemy's  side  of  the  bay  18,000  so-called  soldiers,  his 


48  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

garrison  only  numbered  1,500,  was  desirous  of  being 
let  alone  ;  but  still  he  had  notified  the  parties  of  the 
second  part  that  if  this  vessel  tried  to  put  to  sea  she 
would  be  fired  at.  The  event  worked  itself  out.  The 
vessel  aforesaid  did,  on  August  25th,  in  the  evening, 
try  to  go  outside.  The  word  was  given,  and  Sergeant 
Theberath  promptly  hove  a  shot  over  her  forecastle, 
which  caused  her  to  drop  sail  and  quickly  retire  to 
her  original  anchorage. 

During  the  hot  July  days  of  1861,  which  were 
also  hot  in  Virginia,  General  Irvvin  MacDowell 
fought  and  lost  that  "blessing  in  disguise,  "  called 
by  our  side  the  battle  of  "  Bull  Run,"  and  by  the 
Confederates  the  battle  of  "  Manassas."  Naturally 
"  our  friends,  the  enemy,"  were  much  elated,  and 
fearing  probably  that  the  Santa  Rosa  garrison  would 
be  left  in  ignorance  of  such  an  interesting  historical 
event,  they  in  the  early  days  of  August,  sailed  a 
couple  of  toy  boats  over  the  bay.  These  vessels  were 
loaded  with  letters  and  papers  addressed  to  Col. 
Wilson,  and  which  narrated  in  glowing  colors  Mac- 
Dowell's  utter  rout,  the  demoralization  of  the  North 
and  the  impending  triumph  of  the  Confederacy.  All 
of  which  information  did  not  particularly  affect  Col. 
Wilson,  or  the  Sixth,  any  more  than  did  a  similar  but 
more  virulent  communication  detailing  in  a  blood 
curdling  way  the  near-by  fate  of  the  Sixth.  This 
epistle  was  sent  in  a  bottle  attached  to  the  neck  of  a 
dog  which  was  probably  thrown  overboard  from  some 
scouting  row-boat  and  perforce  compelled  to  swim 
to  the  beach,  where  arrived  the  poor  beast  naturally 
sought  human  companionship.  No  one  was  disturbed 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  51 

by  any  of  these  missives,  but  men  did  wonder  why 
the  rebels  should  have  imbibed  such  a  mortal  hatred 
to  the  Sixth,  which,  up  to  that  time,  had  not  had  the 
opportunity  to  do  them  any  harm.  Possibly,  and  in 
fact,  probably,  however,  the  evident  prejudice  against 
the  Sixth,  entertained  by  the  enemy,  was  due  to  the 
lies  printed  by  our  own  newspapers,  who  at  that  time 
vied  with  one  another  in  such  defamations. 

About  this  time  Mr.  L.  B.  Gillett,  a  Northern  man 
who  had  been  acting  as  agent  for  the  Adams  and 
Southern  Express  Company,  with  several  compan 
ions,  male  and  female,  white  and  colored,  got  pos 
session  of  a  row-boat  and  crossed  the  bay,  being  pre 
cursors  of  the  infinite  army  of  people  who  got  tired 
of  the  Confederacy,  and  in  various  ways  left  that 
beneficent  fold. 

In  those  August  days  while  everybody  on  Santa 
Rosa  were  in  a  state  of  physical  torture  and  bad 
temper  from  the  heat,  sand  fleas  and  mosquitoes,  a 
very  gallant  feat  of  arms  relieved  the  monotony 
of  the  situation  and  gave  everybody  something  to 
talk  about.  The  occasion  was  as  follows  :  when  Pen- 
sacola  Navy  Yard  was  abandoned,  among  its  "  plant " 
was  a  large  floating  dry-dock,  big  enough  to  float  a 
frigate,  and  Gen.  Bragg,  concluding  that  if  the  ships 
kept  him  from  sending  a  vessel  to  sea,  he  could  by 
sinking  the  dock  in  the  narrow  channel  off  Fort 
McRae,  estop  the  ships  from  entering  the  bay ;  so  he 
had  the  dock  pumped  dry  and  floated  out  in  the  bay 
in  waiting  for  a  good  opportunity  to  tow  it  down  and 
sink  it.  This  scheme  would  doubtless  have  been 


52  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

soon  carried  out  but  Col.  Brown  had  divined  Bragg's 
purpose,  and  on  the  2d  of  September  it  was  efficiently 
frustrated  by  boat  expedition  of  a  dozen  selected 
regulars,  under  Lieut.  A.  E.  Shipley,  U.  S.  A.,  who 
boarded  the  dock  in  good  style,  placed  live  shells  on 
its  floor,  and  retired  without  loss,  although  the  pieces 
of  their  own  exploding  shells  made  their  position  very 
warm  as  they  rowed  away.  The  dock  took  fire  from 
the  shells,  and  made  to  all  on-lookers  a  very  pic 
turesque  one-and-one-half  million  dollar  conflagra 
tion. 

September  21,  Company  G,  Captain  James  H. 
Dobie,  was  ordered  to  Battery  Lincoln,  still  further 
depleting  the  force  with  the  colors,  so  that,  on 
September  23,  with  the  battle  of  Santa  Rosa  Island 
in  the  near  future,  there  were  only  five  companies 
together,  numbering,  by  the  consolidated  morning 
report  of  that  date,  only  fourteen  officers  and  232 
enlisted  men  for  duty,  a  very  slim  showing.  But  it 
must  be  remembered  that,  by  this  time,  the  com 
mandant  and  his  staff  had  discovered  that  the  Sixth 
was  really  a  regiment  of  artizans,  and  had  increased 
the  special  duty  details,  so  that  an  undue  number  of 
rank  and  file,  instead  of  carrying  muskets,  were  em 
ployed  as  clerks  and  mechanics. 

In  the  traditions  of  the  old  navy,  there  were  many 
cases  where  young  officers  had  won  their  spurs  by  so- 
called  "  cutting  out "  expeditions,  where  a  force  in 
row  boats  assails,  usually  at  night,  some  vessel  which 
could  not  otherwise  be  attacked,  and  essays  to  carry 
her  "by  the  board,"  and  clear  her  decks  with  pike, 


History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment.  53 

cutlass,  and  pistol.  These  affairs  were  considered 
as  the  most  desperate  actions  in  which  men  could  be 
engaged,  as  the  advantage  of  position  was  decidedly 
on  the  side  of  the  defense,  and  the  attack,  if  success 
ful,  properly  gave  great  honor  to  the  assailants. 
Among  such  attacks,  that  of  Decatur,  on  the  frigate 
"  Philadelphia,  "  in  Tripoli  harbor,  in  the  early  part 
of  the  century,  had  become  a  watchword  in  the  ser 
vice,  and  every  ambitious  young  officer  had,  through 
the  entire  history  of  the  navy,  seized  every  oppor 
tunity  to  engage  in  such  duty.  Of  this  species  of 
naval  warfare  the  Sixth  saw  a  very  good  instance, 
when,  on  September  I3th,  1861,  Lieut,  (now  rear- 
admiral,  retired)  John  H.  Russell,  U.  S.  N.,  with  a 
detail  of  officers  and  men  attacked  and  carried  the 
Confederate  vessel  "Judah,"  fully  armed  and  equip 
ped,  and  under  cover  of  batteries  and  infantry. 

This  cutting-out  expedition  was  commanded  by 
Lieut.  John  H.  Russell,  with  the  first  launch  of  the 
"  Colorado"  with  thirty-nine  men,  and  following  him 
came  the  first  cutter  under  Lieut.  Sproston  with 
eighteen  men,  the  second  cutter  Lieut.  Blake  with 
twenty-six  men,  the  third  cutter  under  Midshipman 
Steece  with  seventeen  men. 

The  plan  was  for  Sproston  and  Steece  to  attack  the 
Navy  Yard,  while  Russell  and  Blake  were  to  carry  the 
schooner  "Judah,"  which  was  armed  with  a  thirty- 
two  pounder  amidships,  and  several  smaller  pieces 
in  broadside,  and  which  was  manned  by  a  full  crew 
of  a  hundred  men.  The  plan  in  this  case  was  carried 
out  perfectly.  The  boats  with  muffled  oars  pulled  in 
quietly  without  recognition  ;  Sproston  and  Steece 


54  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


landed  in  the  Yard  and  spiked  two  pieces  which  bore 
on  the  "Judah."  Russell  and  Blake  in  the  mean 
while  boarded  the  vessel  under  heavy  fire  (for  her 
crew  had  promptly  manned  her  guns),  and  carried 
her. 

During  this  time  the  enemy  had  rallied,  and  to 
the  number  of  a  thousand  were  opening  a  heavy 
fire  of  musketry  on  the  attacking  party.  Notwith 
standing  the  fire,  the  Union  sailors  were  steadfast. 
They  got  a  couple  of  boat  howitzers  to  bear  and  raked 
the  Navy  Yard  with  canister  ;  they  answered  the  infan 
try  fire,  and  they  finally  rowed  away  leaving  the 
"  Judah"  in  flames,  and  bearing  with  them  nearly  one 
quarter  of  the  attacking  force  dead  or  wounded,  thus 
having  illustrated  still  again  the  discipline  and  courage 
of  the  United  States  Navy,  as  shown  in  countless 
battles,  exploits  and  disasters  at  sea  for  a  century 
past. 

While  recounting  the  heroism  of  the  navy,  it  seems 
a  proper  time  to  mention  the  perils  and  dangers  to 
which  the  "  boats  crews"  composed  of  soldiers  of  the 
Sixth,  on  Santa  Rosa  Island  were  exposed.  Trans 
port  vessels  had  to  anchor  in  the  Gulf,  there  being  no 
wharf  or  pier  on  the  island  ;  troops,  stores,  horses 
and  cattle  were  landed  in  boats,  or  put  overboard, 
and  towed,  or  washed,  or  swim  to  the  shore.  The 
duty  was  hazardous,  and  many  brave  deeds  in  rescu 
ing  life  and  property  were  performed,  Among  the 
"  boats  crews  "  now  recalled,  privates  William  Knapp- 
mann  and  James  B.  Tooker  were  two  of  the  most 
daring  ;  as  part  compensation  their  work  in  this  line 
often  procured  these  men  many  dainties. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  57 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Battle  of  .Santa  Rosa  Island. 

OCTOBER  8th,  1861,  found  in  camp,  one  mile  east  of 
Fort  Pickens,  Companies  C,  Captain  R.  H.  Hazeltine; 
D,  Captain  Duffy  ;  F,  Lieutenant  Jacob  Silloway  ;  H, 
Captain  Charles  E.  Heuberer,  and  K.  Captain  H.  L. 
Hoelzle,  being  a  total  of  some  fourteen  officers,  and 
two  hundred  and  twenty  muskets,  such  being  the 
strength  to  which  bad  water,  hot  suns,  and  an  incon 
siderate  system  of  details  and  detachments  had 
reduced  the  regiment.*  The  camp  was  an  ordinary 
infantry  one,  the  company  streets  running  east  and 
west,  and  the  color  line  (on  the  east  side  of  the  camp) 
north  and  south.  The  ordinary  camp  guard,  and  its 
sentinels  were  on  duty,  and  a-half  mile  east  of  the 
campkwas  an  outpost  line,  the  whole  of  this  part  of 
the  affair  being  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Moore 
Hanham,  of  Company  H,  afterward  a  major  of 
colored  troops. 

The  day  wore  through  peacefully  enough,  but  was 
destined  to  be  succeeded  by  a  hot  and  lurid  night, 
for  Bragg,  finally  goaded  into  action  by  his  govern 
ment  and  newspapers,  had  selected  the  evening  of 
the  8th,  as  the  proper  date  on  which  to  dispose  of 
the  Sixth,  storm  Fort  Pickens,  and  hoist  whatever 

*  See  Appendix  No.   3. 


58  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


provisional  Confederate  flag  he  might  be  righting 
under,  over  the  remains  of  Colonel  Brown,  his  works, 
and  his  force. 

Desiring  a  surprise,  General  Bragg,  determined  to 
make  his  crucial  effort  after  dark.  This  was  an  error 
on  his  part,  by  the  way  ;  night  attacks  ought  only 
to  be  confided  to  the  most  veteran  of  veterans,  as,  on 
such  occasions  it  is  so  easy  for  the  shirker  to  trip 
and  fall,  to  get  lost,  to  dig  a  hole  for  himself,  or  in 
fact  to  do  a  multitude  of  things  calculated  to  relieve 
him  from  the  necessity  of  fighting.  However,  Bragg 
so  ordained  matters,  and  having  in  hand  plenty  of 
men  who  had  undergone  more  or  less  of  discipline 
and  drill,  he  selected  two  thousand  five  hundred  of 
the  best  fitted  of  them  to  make  what  the  Spaniards 
call  an  "en  camisado  "  with  probably  the  idea  that  if 
the  pick  of  his  force  could  only  hustle  the  Sixth 
into  Pickens,  he  could,  on  the  next  day,  cross 
enough  more  of  men  over  the  bay  to  force  Colonel 
Brown  into  a  surrender. 

Thus  thinking,  and  having  selected  his  troops,  and 
General  Anderson  to  command  them,  General 
Bragg  sent  his  troops  over  the  bay,  and  by  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  9th  October  had  gotten 
one  thousand  five  hundred  of  them  on  shore,  about 
one  mile  to  the  east  of  the  camp  of  the  Sixth,  leaving 
about  as  many  more  on  board  of  the  steamer  and 
towed  flat  boats  which  constituted  his  flotilla. 

These  troops  formed  themselves  into  three  columns, 
whereof  one  was  destined  to  turn  the  left  of  the  Sixth 
by  the  shore  of  the  bay,  another  to  turn  the  right  of 
the  camp  by  way  of  the  beach  on  the  Gulf  side, 
while  the  centre  column  was  meant  to  attack  in  front, 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  59 


and  overwhelm  the  camp  of  the  Sixth  with  its 
forward  rush.  The  whole  plan  was  a  very  pretty  one 
from  a  theoretic  standpoint,  but  in  a  practical 
military  way  it  would  likely  have  been  better  to  have 
kept  the  troops  together  and  rushed  the  Sixth  camp 
in  a  mass.  A  dark  night  is  bewildering,  and  the  less 
complication  a  commander  introduces  into  his 
scheme  on  such  occasions  the  better.  If  carried  out 
in  all  its  details  this  attack  would  have  resulted  in 
the  demolition  of  this  portion  of  the  regiment,  for, 
the  more  steadfastly  it  resisted  the  attack  in  front, 
the  more  time  would  have  been  given  to  the  flanking 
columns  to  close  in  on  the  rear,  so  that  eventually 
the  battalion  would  have  been  circled  with  fire  and 
steel. 

At  2.30  A.  M.,  October  Qth,  the  enemy's  skirmish 
line  crept  up  on  the  advance  picket  line  of  the  Sixth 
and  bayoneted  some  of  them  before  the  alarm  was 
given.  Then  some  of  the  pickets  fired  their  muskets, 
the  Confederates  likewise  opened^  and  the  camp  was 
alarmed.  The  long  roll  was  beaten,  and  the  Sixth 
formed  up  on  its  color  line  under  Col.  Wilson,  while 
the  remainder  of  the  picket  force  came  slowly,  fight 
ing  steadily,  in  retreat,  with  the  enemy  fairly  on  top 
of  them  firing  rapidly  and  yelling  after  their  own 
fashion. 

When  the  shock  finally  came,  the  odds  were  too 
great  for  the  Sixth  to  sustain,  and  so  it  came  about 
that  three  companies,  under  command  of  Colonel 
Wilson,  fell  back  in  the  direction  of  Fort  Pickens  in 
good  order,  rallying  from  time  to  time  and  firing 
steadily.  These  companies,  so  soon  as  they  had 
established  themselves  under  cover  of  the  works, 


6o  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

were  in  condition  to  promptly  advance  in  pursuit  of 
the  enemy.  This  course,  on  the  part  of  Colonel 
Wilson,  was  militarily  correct,  and  theoretically  the 
best  plan  would  probably  have  been  to  have  retired 
the  battalion  in  mass  to  the  Gulf  side  of  Fort  Pickens 
so  as  to  unmask  its  guns,  and  so  when  the  impact  of 
the  attack  should  have  been  checked,  to  have 
made  a  counter  charge  on  the  enemy's  left,  which,  if 
assisted  by  an  application  offeree  on  his  right,  would 
probably  have  settled  the  business  then  and  there. 
In  fact,  it  would  have  been  a  miniature  battle  of 
Dresden,  as  fought  by  the  first  Napoleon,  with  a 
fortress  for  a  centre  and  an  active  force  on  each  flank. 
As  it  occurred,  however,  the  fact  was  that  while  Col. 
Wilson  and  his  three  companies  fell  back  on  Fort 
Pickens,  Captains  Heuberer  and  Hazeltine  didn't  feel 
like  retreating,  and  so,  keeping  their  companies  in 
hand,  they  retired  a  short  distance  to  the  right  of  the 
camp  and  forming  up  sternly  with  their  backs  to  the 
Gulf  prepared  to  fight  it  out  on  that  line.  This  little 
force  numbered  a  scant  hundred  muskets  and  was 
under  the  further  disadvantage,  if  charged  in  front  of 
being  driven  into  the  Gulf,  if  kept  long  in  its  then 
position  of  being  attacked  in  flank  by  the  left  or  Gulf 
side  column  of  the  enemy.  However,  this  latter 
organization  was  opportunely  checked  by  a  valiant 
invalid  of  the  Sixth,  private  Scott  of  Company  C, 
who,  true  to  his  fighting  name,  when  he  heard  the 
firing,  came  out  from  his  hospital  cot,  found  a  musket 
and  promptly  slew  the  Confederate  leader,  so  that, 
confused  by  the  darkness  and  their  leader  killed,  this 
part  of  the  enemy  halted  and  precious  time  was 
gained.  Meantime,  the  Confederate  centre  column, 


History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment.  61 


having  occupied  the  camp  of  the  Sixth,  halted  in  the 
full  light  of  the  burning  camp,  and  did  several  curious 
things.  First  they  formed  up  in  line  and  fired  several 
wonderfully  well-ordered  volleys,  then  they  for  some 
unknown  reason  formed  a  square  ;  why  this  was  done 
no  man  knows — perhaps  it  was  in  order  to  keep  their 
men  together — perhaps  from  a  vague  idea  that 
Colonel  Brown  had  a  regiment  of  cavalry  somewhere 
— in  a  bomb  proof  perhaps,  or  in  his  breeches  pockets, 
and  that  the  square  was  the  proper  formation  in  which 
to  receive  them.  Anyway  the  square  was  formed, 
and  before  it  formed  and  while  it  was  forming  and 
afterward,  the  companies  of  Hazeltine  and  Heuberer 
on  somewhat  higher  ground  than  the  camp,  waxed 
hotter  and  hotter  as  the  fight  went  on,  and  looking 
out  of  their  surrounding  darkness  into  the  light  of  the 
blazing  camp,  so  smote  the  enemy  with  continuous 
musketry,  that  many  men  went  down  killed  or 
wounded,  and  many  another  man  probably  wished  in 
his  inmost  soul  that  he  had  never  "loved  a  country/' 

After  this  sort  of  thing  had  gone  on  long 
enough  for  Companies  H  and  C  of  the  Sixth  to  have 
expended  two  or  three  thousand  rounds  of  ammuni 
tion,  the  enemy  suddenly  became  tired.  He  hadn't 
captured  Fort  Pickens — he  hadn't  even  gobbled  the 
Sixth — and  he  was  very  much  disgusted  at  the  steady 
fire  of  Companies  H  and  C.  Suddenly  blew  the 
bugle  of  retreat,  and  like  a  vanishing  mist  the  grey 
and  butternut  ranks  took  themselves  out  of  the 
light  of  the  camp  fires,  and  into  the  friendly  shades 
of  the  night,  with  a  rain  of  abandoned  muskets  and 
bowie  knives  besprinkling  the  sand  as  they  went. 

By   this    time,   Major    Vogdes    and    Captain    Hildt 


62  History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment. 

had  brought  up  some  companies  of  regulars.  That 
portion  of  the  Sixth  which  had  been  retired  by 
Colonel  Wilson  also  came  back,  and  the  whole  force 
cheering  and  firing,  tore  though  the  underbrush,  and 
stumbled  over  the  sand  hills  in  a  lively  pursuit,  which 
lasted  until  the  graybacks  found  refuge  in  their 
transports.  During  this  pursuit  some  prisoners  were 
bagged,  but  the  retreat  of  the  enemy  was  too 
precipitate  to  admit  of  much  business  in  this  line. 
One  single  field  battery  could  have  disabled  the  tow 
ing  steamer,  and  so  captured  or  annihilated  the  entire 
command,  but  there  was  no  field  battery  at  hand.  The 
fact  seems  to  be  that  Colonel  Brown  hardly  realized 
that  his  position  had  been  attempted  until  the  whole 
affair  was  ended.  There  was  a  field  battery  in  Pickens, 
there  were  officers  and  men  to  fight  the  same,  and 
horses  to  move  it,  but  somebody  blundered  and  so 
Bragg's  people  got  away  considerably  demoralized, 
having  lost  a  quantity  of  arms  and  some  four  hundred 
men,  and  when  the  sun  rose  over  Santa  Rosa  Island 
the  Sixth'  became  conscious  that  it  had  had  a  sharp 
fight,  had  won  a  tidy  victory,  and  that 'the  greater  part 
of  its  baggage  had  been  burned.  During  the  pursuit  a 
steamer  came  over  from  Pensacola  with  reinforce 
ments,  but  Company  I,  Captain  Robert  Bailey,  opened 
from  battery  Cameron,  and  the  enemy  promptly  turned 
around  and  sought  shelter. 

In  this  connection  it  is  fair  to  Col.  Brown  to  state 
that,  although  he  did  not  remember  his  field  battery, 
he  did  bethink  him  of  the  fact  that  he  had  under  his 
control  an  armed  transport  steamer,  called  the 
"  McClellan,"  which  vessel  belonged  to  the  quarter 
master's  department.  The  "McClellan"  had  a  bat- 


History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment.  63 

tery  of  sufficient  power  to  have,  with  her  light 
draught  of  water,  enabled  her  to  get  into  a  position 
outside  of  the  beach,  from  which  she  could  probably 
have  driven  away  the  Confederate  steamers  and  so 
have  isolated  the  men  not  yet  embarked. 

But  here  again  came  in  the  general  stupidity  of  the 
superior  management  of  this  eminently  "  soldier's  bat 
tle,"  for  when  the  captain  of  the  "  McClellan  "  tried 
to  obey  his  orders  he  was  signalled  from  the  frigate 
"Potomac"  to  tow  that  vessel  into  position,  and  in 
trying  to  handle  this  heavy,  old  sailing  ship,  he  lost 
so  much  precious  time  that  the  enemy  had  made  good 
their  retreat  before  the  batteries  of  the  ships  could 
be  brought  to  bear. 

In  this  affair  the  regiment  had  behaved  extremely 
well.  It  had  been  overpowered  and  unsupported  and 
it  had  not  been  stampeded  or  broken.  A  portion  of  it 
had  retired  under  orders  in  good  condition  and  had 
advanced  again  without  hesitation  when  the  rally 
was  made  ;  while  as  stated  Heuberer's  and  Hazeltine's 
companies  had  fought  the  battle  out  to  the  end  with 
out  material  change  of  their  original  positions.  Still 
the  "regiment  had  suffered  heavily;  it  had  lost  a 
number  of  good  men  and  it  had  nearly  all  its 
property  distroyed,  and  was  reduced  for  some 
time  afterward  to  various  queer  shifts  to  provide  for 
its  wants.  In  fact  as  the  supplies  at  the  post  were 
low  some  ingenious  men  hunted  alligators  for  their 
hides  for  shoe  leather,  while  others  showed  much 
tailoring  skill  in  patching  and  revamping  damaged 
clothing. 

In  this  place  it  is  as  well  to  mention  the  experi 
ences  of  the  companies  which  at  this  time  were  on 


64  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

detail  on  Santa  Rosa.  Of  these,  Company  I,  Capt. 
Robert  Bailey,  had  been  (June  16)  detached  to  Bat 
tery  Cameron,  one  of  the  new  outworks  of  Fort 
Pickens.  This  company  being  near  the  regiment 
practically  participated  in  all  the  doings  of  the  main 
body,  and  it,  as  already  mentioned,  fired  the  first  shot 
in  anger  ever  fired  by  the  regiment.  Also,  it  partici 
pated  in  the  battle  of  Santa  Rosa  Island,  both  by 
driving  off  the  enemy's  reinforcements  and  by  pep 
pering  a  schooner  which  had  on  board,  as  afterward 
ascertained,  no  less  a  person  than  Major  Vogdes, 
U.  S.  A.,  who  had  had  the  bad  luck  to  be  captured 
during  the  struggle  on  the  Island. 

September  2  ist,  Company  G,  Capt.  James  H.  Dobie, 
had  been  ordered  to  Battery  Lincoln,  where  it  was  at 
the  time  of  the  attack  on  the  camp  of  the  Sixth,  and 
when  the  regulars  advanced  this  company  came  out 
of  the  work  and  did  good  service  in  the  pursuit. 


2      O 

^    pq 
g 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  65 


CHAPTER  V. 

Bombardment. 

ON  the  morning  of  the  I2th  of  November,  the  con 
solidated  report  of  that  part  of  the  regiment,  Com 
panies  C,  D,  F  and  K,  which  were  with  the  colors, 
reported  190  enlisted  men  for  duty,  while  there  were 
36  sick,  extra  duty  48,  and  for  duty  n  officers,  the 
regiment  having  been  still  further  depleted  since  the 
battle  by  the  detail  of  Company  H,  Capt.  Charles  E. 
Heuberer,  first,  November  nth,  to  Battery  Scott,  and 
later,  November  22d,  to  Fort  Pickens,  which  gave 
this  company  an  opportunity  to  find  out  what  a  bom 
bardment  is  like  when  you  are  on  the  wrong  side  oi 
the  muzzles  of  the  cannon. 

This  event  came  off  on  the  22d  and  23d  days  oi 
November,  1861,  and  was  commenced  by  our  side 
under  orders  from  Col.  Brown.  The  signal  gun  was 
fired  from  Pickens  at  9  A.  M.,  and  was  followed  up  by 
No.  I  gun,  a  lO-inch  columbiad,  captained  by  Sergt. 
Theberath,  from  Battery  Cameron,  then  manned 
by  Company  I,  Capt.  Bailey.  Then  the  whole  line 
opened,  fort  and  batteries.  And  the  enemy  replied 
from  Barrancas,  and  the  works  about  it.  As  in  all 
bombardments  there  was  a  great  deal  of  noise  and 
nerve  strain.  Pickens  was  heavily  breached,  so  much 
so  as  to  keep  Lieut.  MacFarland,  U.  S.  E.,  very  busy 


66  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


at  night  stopping  the  holes  with  sand  bags.  Also,  the 
batteries  were  considerably  damaged,  and  some  loss 
of  life  sustained,  the  first  man  killed  was  private 
Theodore  Cooper  of  Capt.  Heuberer's  Company  (H). 
On  the  other  side  of  the  contest,  McRae  was  silenced, 
and  the  works  badly  hammered,  and  Barrancas  must 
have  been  an  unpleasant  place  of  residence  for  those 
two  days  and  the  intervening  nights. 

This  was  a  novel  experience  for  the  Sixth,  for  first 
came  the  preparations,  which  were  a  considerable 
strain  both  of  labor  and  expectancy.  Then  came  the 
hard  suspense,  while  in  the  early  hours  of  the  22d  all 
eyes  were  concentrated  on  the  little  blue  flag  on  the 
staff  of  Pickens,  the  dropping  of  which  was  to  be  the 
signal  for  opening  fire,  and  then  the  crash  and  roar 
of  the  firing  from  fort,  battery  and  ships,  for  the 
Niagara  and  Colorado  joined  in  and  pounded  away 
until  the  smoke  wreaths  rose  high  above  their 
reduced  spars,  for  they  had  stripped  for  action. 

Novel  as  the  experience  was,  and  severe  as  was  the 
labor  of  handling  the  heavy  guns,  the  regiment 
behaved  with  great  steadiness.  Company  H  took 
a  hand  at  the  guns  in  Pickens,  Company  I  those  in 
Cameron,  and  Company  G  did  good  work  in  Lincoln. 

Among  the  most  active  and  useful  men  in  this 
bombardment  engaged  were  Sergt.  Theberath,  Private 
James  Smith,  who  was  No.  i  of  Theberath's  detach 
ment,  and  Orderly  Sergt.  Peter  Tawse  who  captained 
gun  No.  2  in  Cameron,  while  Captains  Heuberer, 
Bailey,  Dobie,  and  Lieutenants  Moore  Hanham,  and 
W.  B.  Kaufman,  kept  a  careful  supervision  over  the 
sighting  and  elevation  of  the  pieces. 

It  was  not  until  fifteen  minutes  after  we  opened  that 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  67 


the  enemy  responded,  and  he  did  it  with  a  will,  and 
as  our  position  was  the  centre  of  the  circle,  while 
their's  occupied  the  arc  whose  radius  was  under  a  mile, 
our  friends  in  gray  managed  to  cross  fire  over  us  in 
a  most  embarrassing  fashion. 

Finally,  by  the  evening  of  the  23d  the  firing  ceased, 
"  ended  the  thunder  of  fort  and  fleet,"  and  both  sides 
had  an  opportunity  to  count  losses,  repair  damages, 
and  the  ordnance  people  to  find  out  how  much  am 
munition  had  been  wasted.  For  wasted  it  was,  and 
in  fact,  except  for  the  value  to  the  troops  as  an  object 
lesson  in  a  certain  phase  of  war,  Col.  Brown  might 
better  have  saved  his  powder,  and  left  his  neighbors 
at  peace,  for,  even  if  by  some  military  miracle  he  had 
destroyed  all  their  works,  he  had  no  men  in  hand  to 
have  occupied  the  positions,  and  tactically,  his  situ 
ation  already  explained,  was  the  worst  of  the  two. 
Under  such  circumstances  wise  men  do  not  fight. 
But  then,  Col.  Brown  though  good,  was  not  wise,  at 
least  not  very,  and  he  probably  felt  a  desire  to  do 
something,  and  so  acted  like  the  small  boy  with  a 
loaded  gun  whom  the  fates  will  not  leave  alone  until 
he  has  fired  the  same  off. 

It.  was  noted  during  this  bombardment  that, 
although  at  the  commencement  the  men  were  under 
a  heavy  strain  and  doubted  what  was  to  become  of 
them,  after  a  short  time  they  began  to  be  cool  and 
composed,  and  toward  the  end  the  experience  was 
treated  as  a  matter  of  amusement,  and  men  ran  out 
from  the  works  and  dug  from  the  sand  shot  and  unex- 
ploded  shells  and  insisted  on  reloading  the  guns  with 
them  and  firing  them  back  at  the  enemy. 


68  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

The  range  and  point  was  so  well  understood  by  this 
time,  that  one  very  annoying  gun  on  the  Confederate 
side  was  silenced  by  a  simultaneous  fire  of  three  can 
non  from  Battery  Cameron,  whose  projectiles  struck 
the  offending  piece  together  and  killed  or  wounded 
nearly  every  man  about  it. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  7 1 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Bombardment. — Pensacola. 

NOVEMBER  23d,  Company  D  was  also  ordered  into 
Pickens,  and  on  the  2d  of  December,  under  order  No. 
215,  Headquarters  Department  Florida,  Camp  Brown 
was  abandoned,  and  the  regiment  was  concentrated 
in  a  line  of  retrenchment  which  had  been  built  across 
the  island  since  the  Santa  Rosa  fight. 

While  the  Sixth  was  engaged  in  the  task  of  con 
structing  this  defense  line  of  works  across  Santa  Rosa 
island,  there  was  much  fun  created  by  a  little  duet  in 
which  the  parties  were  Major  Israel  Vogdes,  and  the 
regimental  goat  who  went  by  the  generic  name  of 
Billy.  It  chanced  one  day  when  the  trench  had  been 
dug  down  to  the  depth  of  some  six  feet  that  Vogdes, 
aforesaid,  who  was  busily  supervising  the  work,  stood 
at  the  end  of  a  section  of  the  ditch,  and  in  his  interest 
in  the  work  had  bent  forward,  so  that  he  presented  a 
very  inviting  rear  elevation.  In  fact,  so  inviting  was 
it  that  "Billy"  entirely  forgot  his  respect  for  digni 
taries,  and  having  craftily  turned  the  Major's  flank, 
prepared  for  a  vigorous  attack  in  the  rear.  This  feat  of 
arms"  Billy"  executed  with  great  energy.  First  rising 
on  his  hind  feet  and  performing  a  preliminary  pirou 
ette,  he  drove  his  hard  head  with  much  violence  against 


72  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

that  part  of  the  Major's  anatomy  which  is  ordinarily 
put  in  requisition  for  sedentary  purposes.  "Billy" 
only  fired  once,  but  his  shot  was  extremely  effective. 
"Billy"  and  gravity  together  were  too  much  for 
Vogdes,  and  he  gracefully  dived  into  the  ditch.  The 
incident  was  very  amusing  to  the  bystanders,  but 
when  the  Major  arose  there  was  sand  in  his  uniform 
and  in  his  hair  and  "  blood  in  his  eye."  Glaring  at 
the  men,  who  couldn't  help  laughing,  he  remarked, 
"You  seem  to  be  amused  ;  go  to  the  guardhouse." 

On  the  ist  of  January,  1862,  Col.  Brown  once  more 
waked  up  and  shelled  Pensacola  Navy  Yard  with  much 
vigor.  On  this  occasion  Companies  I  and  G  handled 
the  guns  in  Batteries  Cameron  and  Lincoln;  Private 
John  Moran  of  Company  I  was  killed.  This  firing 
resulted  in  burning  the  buildings  in  the  Navy  Yard, 
which,  as  there  was  a  certainty  that  in  the  nature  of 
things  the  enemy  would  soon  withdraw  from  Pensa 
cola  and  that  the  yard  would  come  in  very  handily  as 
a  refit  station  for  our  navy,  seems  to  have  been  rather 
bad  economy. 

During  this  affair  Sergeant  Peter  Tawse  had  the 
rare  experience  of  being  literally  blown  through  the 
top  of  a  tent  in  which  he  was  quietly  writing,  by  a 
shell,  which  exploded  under  the  tent  floor.  Being  a 
tough  Scotchman  the  sergeant  was  only  shaken  up, 
and  happily  is  alive  on  the  retired  list  of  the  regular 
army  at  this  day. 

January  2cl,  as  a  refreshment  after  the  bombard 
ment,  Col.  Wilson  entertained  his  officers  on  the 
occasion  of  the  presentation  of  regimental  colors  on 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  7,3 


the  part  of  the  Common  Council  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  a  ceremony  to  which  that  worthy  body  were 
much  addicted  in  those  days,  for  it  might  conciliate 
voters,  and  at  any  rate  would  afford  an  opportunity 
for  a  minute  job. 

Early  in  March,  1862,  Captain  Burgess  with  Com 
pany  A,  Lieut.  Denslow  with  Company  B,  and  Lieut. 
Roddy  with  Company  E,  were  transferred  from  Fort 
Jefferson  to  Santa  Rosa  Island,  thus  making  eight 
companies  in  camp  under  Colonel  Wilson's  command 
(Companies  G  and  I  were  still  at  the  batteries). 
These  new  arrivals  were  heartily  welcomed,  and  soon 
settled  down  to  the  routine  of  camp  life. 

And  so  the  winter  passed  away.  The  troops  drilled 
steadily.  There  were  mild  festivities  from  time  to 
time,  and  sometimes  by  way  of  variety  a  company 
was  sent  scouting  down  the  island.  Company  D  was 
engaged  in  this  service  March  25th,  and  Company 
K,  did  similar  duty  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month. 
Altogether  it  was  a  quiet  and  not  unpleasant 
experience  ;  the  climate  was  equable.  The  sand 
flea  and  the  mosquito  had  rested  from  their  labors, 
and  there  was  sufficient  to  eat  and  enough  work  to 
keep  a  man  healthy.  Nevertheless  this  sort  of  mili 
tary  picnicking  became  tiresome  at  last,  and  every 
one  was  much  delighted  in  the  early  May  days  when 
General  Bragg  silently,  and  without  tuck  of  drum, 
and  without  even  sending  a  P.  P.  C.  card  to  his  friend 
Brigadier-General  Lewis  G.  Arnold,  evacuated  Pen- 
sacola,  and  retired  in  search  of  fresh  fields  and  pas 
tures  new,  which  he  and  his  men  found  before  long  in 
the  bloodstained  woodlands  of  Shiloh,  and  the  long, 
dragging. marches  and  fierce  fighting  which  endured 


74  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


until  Johnston  finally  laid  down  his  arms  at  Durham 
Station  in  1865.  For  this  force  of  Bragg's,  which  con 
fronted  us  in  1861-62  became  as  Hardee's  corps,  a  very 
important  part  of  the  Confederate  army  of  the  west, 
and  the  Georgians,  Mississippians  and  Alabamians 
who  composed  it  made  many  a  long  and  hard  march 
and  shed  much  blood  of  their  own  and  other  people's 
before  the  end  came. 

Before  going  finally  away,  Gen.  Bragg  left  orders 
to  burn  and  blow  up  generally,  but  our  forces  reached 
the  shore  in  time  to  put  out  the  fires,  and  either  the 
fuses  went  out  or  our  fire  drove  away  the  destroyers, 
so  that  the  explosion  part  of  the  programme  failed. 

Bright  and  early  May  I2th,  1862,  under  orders 
No.  2,  Western  District  Department  of  the  South, 
Companies  G,  Capt.  Dobie,  and  I,  Capt.  Bailey, 
crossed  over  to  Barrancas  and  hoisted  the  flag  on 
that  work,  and  on  the  I4th,  Companies  A,  B,  C,  D, 
E,  F,  H  and  K  went  over  to  Pensacola,  under  orders 
No.  5,  Western  District  Department  of  the  South, 
and  the  regimental  family  was  once  more  united. 

The  flag  was  first  placed  in  Pensacola  by  Lieut. 
Kaufman  of  Company  I,  Sixth  Regiment,  who  crossed 
the  bay  in  a  schooner,  called  the  Maria  Wood,  with  a 
detail,  and  after  a  discussion  with  the  Mayor  and 
people  of  Pensacola,  who  were  very  disagreeable  and 
threatened  his  life,  finally  effected  a  landing  and 
hoisted  the  flag,  the  Mayor  and  Commonalty  retiring 
into  their  respective  houses  and  taking  the  back  seat 
which  behooved  them.  This  movement  was  very 
prompt  and  decisive,  and  Brig. -Gen.  L.  G.  Arnold, 
U.  S.  V.,  who  had  succeeded  Col.  Brown,  showed 
good  soldiership  in  his  quick  diagnosis  of  Bragg's 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  75 

purpose  of  withdrawal,  and  by  an  immediate  opening 
of  fire  from  fort  and  batteries  he  saved  a  vast  amount 
of  property  which  the  retiring  enemy  would  otherwise 
have  destroyed. 

Although  Bragg  with  his  main  body  had  gone 
northward,  he  had  left  behind  him  a  sufficient  force  to 
at  least  annoy  the  garrison  of  Pensacola  and  enough 
cavalry  to  keep  the  pickets  stirred  up.  With  these 
troops,  the  Sixth,  which  practically  composed  the 
garrison,  had  to  reckon;  and  while  the  regiment  was 
settling  itself  down  in  the  captured  position  and 
securing  the  same  by  construction  of  a  new  work, 
called  Fort  McClellan,  on  the  height  behind  Pensacola, 
which  was  garrisoned  with  much  credit  by  Capt. 
Denslow's  Company  B,  and  which  mounted  seven 
pieces  (two  3O-lb.  rifles,  five  12-lb.  Napoleons),  and 
covered  the  land  approaches  to  the  town,  one  or  two 
quite  lively  affairs  occurred  in  the  neighborhood. 
At  this  time  Company  B  was  in  Fort  McClel 
lan  and  the  rest  of  the  Sixth  was  laboriously 
engaged  either  in  guarding  public  property,  doing 
picket  duty,  or  garrisoning  the  various  works  which 
were  in  the  neighborhood,  such  as  Fort  Redoubt  in 
rear  of  Barrancas,  which  was  held  by  Companies  G 
and  I,  while  Capt.  Lamed  with  Company  H,  2d 
U.  S.  Artillery,  garrisoned  Fort  Barrancas. 

Besides  these  heavy  duties  the  regiment  strained 
its  available  force  in  doing  a  quantity  of  scouting  and 
reconnoisance  work  in  the  neighborhood,  which  not 
only  afforded  a  good  school  for  training  officers  and 
men  in  Such  duty,  but  also  gave  rise  to  the  aforesaid 
pretty  little  affairs.  One  for  instance,  was  the  expe 
dition  of  June  3d,  which  marched  to  the  Blackwater 


I 

76  History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment. 


and  burned  the  entire  outfit,  timber,  stores,  etc.,  for 
an  intended  Confederate  war  vessel.  Another 
lively  little  expedition  was  that  of  Companies  B, 
Captain  Denslow,  C,  Captain  Hazeltine,  E,  Captain 
McNutt,  H,  Captain  Heuberer,  which  battalion,  com 
manded  by  Lieut.  Col.  Cassady  of  the  Sixth,  sailed 
from  Pensacola  on  the  armed  steamer  "  Meigs,"  after 
dark,  on  the  night  of  the  I4th  of  June,  destined  for 
Milton,  Fla.,  on  the  Backwater  river. 

About  midnight  this  command  landed  quietly  on 
the  shore  near  Milton,  and  surrounded  a  large  build 
ing  which  contained  a  company  of  Confederate 
cavalry.  The  surprise  was  almost  complete,  but  the 
enemy  had  been  sufficiently  apprised  to  have  manned 
a  fence  on  the  flank  of  the  column,  from  which  vant 
age  ground  they  opened  fire  in  a  lively  fashion,  but 
the  battalion  advanced  rapidly,  scaled  the  fences,  sur 
rounded  the  building,  and  our  friends,  the  enemy, 
sought  their  horses  and  fled  into  the  woods  so  fast 
that  six  wounded  prisoners,  nine  horses,  and  a  quan 
tity  of  arms  and  equipments,  comprised  all  of  our 
trophies.  However,  the  command  consoled  itself  by 
thinking  about  the  unhappy  plight  of  the  poor  devils 
who  were  riding  off  through  the  dark  woods  on  bare 
backed  horses. 

On  June  25th,  the  advance  picket  reserve  detail 
while  on  a  scout  toward  the  Mobile  road,  were 
attacked  and  driven  in  by  a  force  of  the  enemy's 
cavalry,  and  had  a  couple  of  men  hurt,  one  of  them 
badly  in  the  foot,  but  retired  on  its  reserve  in  good 
shape,  bringing  off  its  wounded.  A  prompt  advance 
of  Companies  D  and  K  did  not  find  the  enemy,  who 
had  got  out  of  the  way  with  commendable  alacrity. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  77 

One  of  these  expeditions  composed  of  twenty-five 
men  selected  from  various  companies  was  sent  to 
ward  Oakfield,  Florida,  on  the  Mobile  road,  under 
command  of  Captain  Heuberer.  This  was  simply  a 
march  to  drive  off  certain  bushwacking  cavalry 
who  had  been  annoying-  the  pickets  of  the  garrison  of 
Pensacola. 

When  this  command  came  to  Oakfield  it  found  a 
deserted  village  in  a  fine  grove  of  live  oak  trees.  As 
there  was  no  sign  of  an  enemy  about,  the  detail 
stacked  arms,  posted  pickets,  which  had  become  a 
habit,  and  proceeded  to  investigate  the  houses  in  the 
village.  Suddenly  the  pickets  gave  the  alarm.  The 
men  fell  in,  took  arms  and  saw  fifty  or  sixty  Confed 
erate  cavalrymen  riding  madly  toward  them  through 
the  woods.  The  detachment  promptly  deployed  for 
ward  and  opened  fire,  and  the  cavalry  people  broke 
and  scattered,  with  several  saddles  emptied  and 
a  number  of  struggling  horses  on  the  ground 
whose  riders  were  making  a  rapid  retreat  on 
foot.  This  affair  would  not  have  been  worthy  of 
mention  except  as  an  illustration  of  the  ease  with 
which  good  infantry  can  drive  away  cavalry  if  the 
odds  are  not  more  than  two  to  one. 

While  all  these  duties  and  labors  were  going  on 
the  Sixth,  being  after  all  a  lot  of  New  York  boys, 
were  desirous  of  amusing  themselves,  and  got  up  cer 
tain  private  and  public  theatricals,  such  as  would 
have  pleased  a  genuine  Bowery  audience,  and  afforded 
great  amusement  to  every  body.  The  regiment  had 
plenty  of  talent  in  it.  There  were  fellows  who  could 
sing  a  song,  and  sing  the  same  right  well.  There  were 
other  lads  who  had  a  very  accurate  idea  of  the  break- 


7  8  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

down  and  jig,  and  certain  soldier-citizens  then  pres- 
sent,  were  up  in  stage  management,  so  that  the  per 
formance  at  the  "Sixth  Regiment  Zouave  Theatre," 
with  the  following  cast  (heavens,  what  a  brown, 
worn  old  program  it  is  now),  was  an  immense  suc 
cess,  with  an  audience  composed  of  old  and  stiff 
backed  regular  officers,  young  and  enthusiastic  ditto, 
the  Sixth's  own  contribution  of  shoulder  straps,  and 
an  outlying  fringe  of  peering  Ethiopians. 

This  and  other  theatrical  efforts  of  the  Sixth  were 
given  under  the  management  of  Lieut.  Virginius 
Vangieson  of  Company  B,  and  as  it  has  been  stated, 
the  talent  which  was  in  the  regiment  made  successes 
of  all  similar  affairs  during  the  life  of  the  command. 
In  fact  the  Sixth  represented  all  sorts  of  vocations, 
trades  and  industries,  and  was  in  condition  to  have 
become  the  foundation  of  a  very  successful  colony  if 
a  sufficient  number  of  wives  could  fiave  been  furnish 
ed.  For  the  only  thing  lacking  at  that  time  for  the 
organization  of  a  well  governed  and  self  supporting 
community  was  the  presence  of  the  other  sex. 

The  printing  office  at  Pensacola  at  this  date  had  been 
shut  up  for  a  long  time,  and  types  and  appurtenances 
were  in  a  state  of  "  pi,"  but  the  Sixth  had  several 
printers  in  its  ranks,  and  it  was  an  easy  task  for  them 
to  put  things  in  order,  and  not  only  to  set  up  and 
print  this  program,  but  also  to  print  the  orders  and 
papers  for  use  at  headquarters. 


History  cf  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  79 

SIXTH    REGIMENT 

ZOUAVE    THEATRE. 

PENSACOLA,    FLA. 


PROGRAMME. 


OPENING  CHORUS,     ....  Troupe. 

GET  ALONG  HOME  YALLER  GALS,  .  .       Mr.  J.  Burning. 

MY  LOVE  HE  IS  A  ZOUAVE,  .  .  "    J.  Garvey. 

SEEING  NELLY  HOME,  .  .  .         "    G.  Clark. 

POMPEY'S  LAMENT,  .  .  .  "    J.  Powers. 

ELLA  REE,  .  .  .  .  "    J.  Darning. 

ANNIE  LISLE,  .  .  .  .  "    C.  Trigler. 

THE  BOY  WITH  THE  AUBURN  HAIR,          .         "    J.  Garvey. 

HAZEL  DELL,  .  .  .  .  "    C.  Trigler. 

OVERTURE,  ...  .       Band. 

PART    SECOND. 

DANCE,  (jig),  ....  Mr.  J.  Comfort. 

SONG,  (comic),       .  .  .  .  "    E.  Rice. 

DANCE,  (challenge  plantation),         .  .          "    Garvey  &  Foley. 

SONG,         .....  "    E.  Havey. 

JULIESS'S  IDEAS  ABOUT  THE  WAR,  "    J.  Garvey. 

SONG—  THE  UNLUCKY  MAN,      .  "    J.  Comfort. 

DANCE,     .  .  .  .  .  "    W.  Tiffany. 

SONG,  .....  Union  Children. 

The  Performance  will  conclude  with  the  laughable  farce  of 

UNCLE    DA.D'S    C^LBIN. 

OLD  DAD  BROWN,  .  .  Mr.  J.  Durning. 

PEDLER,  .  .  .  .         "    W.  R.  Hay  nes. 

ARABELLA,  .  .  .  Miss  E.  Smith. 

LUCY,     .  .  .  .  .  .         "     E.  Havey. 

Doors  open  at  3£  o'clock,  P.  M.      Performance  to  commence  at  4. 
ou  are  respectfully  invited  to  attend  by 

LIEUT.  V.  VA^GIESOtf, 

SIXTH  N.  Y.  VOLS. 


So  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

The  Seventy-Fifth  and  the  Ninety-First  New  York 
regiments  had  come  down  from  the  North  and  afforded 
in  their  personnel  a  curious  contrast  to  the  Sixth.  On 
the  one  hand  were  the  close-knit,  active,  hard,  city- 
bred  men;  on  the  other,  the  heavy,  healthy,  strong- 
young  country  farmers,  who,  by  the  way,  at  that  time, 
couldn't  vie  with  the  Sixth  in  endurance  of  fatigue  or 
climate.  At  first  relations  were  slightly  strained, 
and  as  many  of  the  men  of  the  Sixth  were  skill 
ful  with  their  hands,  in  sparring  contests  the  country 
men  were  often  worsted,  but  after  a  while  all  parties 
became  very  friendly,  and  there  couldn't  have  been 
better  comrades  in  march  or  fight  than  the  valiant 
Seventy-Fifth  and  Ninety-First. 

By  this  time  the  force  originally  under  Gen.  Arnold 
had  been  augmented  to  four  regiments  of  volunteers 
and  still  retained  the  original  six  companies  of  regular 
artillery.  Gen.  Arnold  having  been  relieved  for 
other  duty,  the  command  had  fallen  by  seniority  to 
Col.  Wilson  of  the  Sixth. 

Sometime  after,  these  troops  were  both  disgusted 
and  somewhat  amused  by  the  supercession  of  Col. 
Wilson  in  command,  by  Brig. -General  Neal  Dow, 
U.  S.  V.,  of  temperance  legislation  notoriety  and  of 
military  service  inutility.  Gen.  Dow  was  in  the  first 
place  a  crank,  much  given  to  issuing  temperance  ad 
vice,  and  was  not  familiar  with  the  ways  of  city-bred 
volunteers  ;  as  a  soldier  he  had  not  many  pretensions 
and  his  adjutant-general  was  like  unto  him,  and  Provi 
dence  only  knows  to  what  state  of  disgust  the  Sixth 
would  have  been  reduced  had  not  the  fates  sent  Gen. 
Butler  from  New  Orleans,  on  a  tour  of  inspection,  to 
Pensacola.  When  that  astute  individual  arrived,  an 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  81 


inspection  review  was  held  for  him,  and  he  fortunately 
cocked  his  eye  on  the  Sixth,  remarked  the  hard, 
sinewy  look  of  the  command,  and  noted  its  good 
drill  and  military  bearing,  and  reflecting  that  if  there 
were  to  be  military  doings  in  his  department,  six  or 
seven  hundred  fellows  like  the  Sixth  would  be  con 
venient  to  have  around,  he  had  a  welcome  order  issued 
transferring  the  regiment  to  Louisiana,  to  be  under 
his  immediate  command. 

In  this  place,  it  is  proper  to  note  a  very  praise 
worthy  piece  of  hospitality  on  the  part  of  Gen. 
Butler,  which  took  place  just  after  the  review  now 
mentioned.  Naturally,  the  department  of  Florida, 
under  Dow,  was  a  dry  department,  and  the  idea  of 
any  soldier  in  the  army  of  the  Lord  refreshing  his 
tired  body  with  a  trifle  of  spirits  was  of  the  nature  of 
the  unpardonable  sin  ;  so  the  delight  and  joy  of  the 
Sixth  and  the  disgust  of  the  general  may  be  im 
agined,  when  Gen.  Butler,  in  the  kindness  of  his 
heart,  ordered  a  gill  of  whisky  per  man  to  the  com 
mand. 

While  the  Sixth  was  at  Pensacola  at  least  during 
the  Wilson  regime,  and  in  fact  during  the  Dow 
episode,  for  that  valiant  fighter  against  "  John  Barley 
corn  "  really  was  more  amusing  than  oppressive,  it 
rather  enjoyed  itself,  As  always  the  drills  were  con 
stant,  but  the  regiment  was  used  to  them,  and  the 
various  picketings  and  scouts,  with  consequent  skirm 
ishes,  gave  men  something  to  discuss  and  differ  about ; 
and  the  surroundings  of  Pensacola  were  so  far  super 
ior  to  that  accursed  sand  ridge  of  Santa  Rosa  that  the 
regiment  felt  as  if  it  were  in  Paradise.  Besides, 
sutlers  had  opened  shops  and  the  paymaster  had 


82  History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment. 

appeared,  and  men  could  waste  their  substance  on 
various  unaccustomed  delicacies.  Then  the  theatre 
afforded  amusement,  and  sarcastic  people  could  please 
their  mental  vein  by  noting  how  many  prominent 
Union  men  developed  out  of  the  resident  males  of 
Pensacola  and  vicinity.  The  women  did  not,  it  is 
true,  show  any  Union  sentiment,  but  the  men  were 
decidedly  in  favor  of  the  old  flag-  with  protection  for 
their  goods  and  chattels.  These  latter  by  the  way 
in  those  days  were  having  a  high  old  time  ;  no  tasks, 
no  overseer,  and  plenty  of  pay  when  they  conde 
scended  to  work  for  "de  Lincum  sojer."  It  is  a 
funny  reflection  how  the  bondman  when  he  happen 
ed  to  find  himself  under  the  protection  of  the  flag, 
made  amends  for  generations  of  servitude  by  being 
most  absolutely  his  own  master.  As  Wendell  Phil 
lips  truly  remarked  during  the  civil  war  days,  "The 
negro  is  the  only  person  in  the  country  who  can 
afford  to  remain  quiet." 

When  Pensacola  was  occupied,  the  resident  clergy 
of  all  denominations  had  departed,  and  the  chaplain 
of  the  Sixth,  Father  Nash,  found  that  the  sacerdotal 
labors  of  the  district  largely  devolved  on  him  in 
addition  to  his  ordinary  duties.  How  well  this  worthy 
ecclesiastic  performed  this  extraneous  duty  every  man 
who  was  then  at  Pensacola  can  testify. 

At  this  time  Hon.  Mr.  Mallory  of  Florida  was 
Confederate  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  it  must  have 
been  gall  and  wormwood  to  his  soul  when  he  heard 
that  the  "notorious  Colonel  Wilson  of  the  celebrated 
New  York  Zouaves  "  had  made  headquarters  in  his 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  83 


handsome  residence.  However,  perhaps  Mr.  Mallory, 
who  was  a  man  of  the  world,  a  good  sportsman  and  an 
expert  amateur  sponge  diver,  consoled  himself  by 
reflecting  that  the  most  maligned  colonel  in  the 
United  States  service  would  be  a  better  tenant  than 
no  tenant  at  all.  At  any  rate  Colonel  Wilson  had 
headquarters  in  the  Mallory  mansion,  and  kept  open 
official  and  personal  house  there,  and  both  he  and  his 
officers  and  men  messed  comfortably  and  enjoyed 
their  change  of  position. 


84  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

New  Orleans. — Baton  Rouge. 

NOVEMBER- 16,  1862,  the  welcome  orders  came,  and 
the  regiment,  per  steamers  "  Nassau,"  and  "  Creole," 
steamed  westward  across  the  Gulf.  Soon  came 
the  narrow  passes  of  the  Mississippi  where  one  looks 
over  endless  miles  of  green  marsh,  and  shortly  after  the 
sullen,  mud-colored  crooked  river,  where  the  sur 
rounding  landscape  resembles  what  the  world  must 
have  looked  like  during  the  Pleiocene  period,  and  no 
one  would  be  surprised  to  have  seen  a  plesiosaurus 
swimming  in  the  river,  or  a  pterodactyl  flying  through 
the  air.  And  then  the  steamers  passed  the  Forts  St. 
Philip  and  Jackson,  with  their  memories  of  Farragut's 
mad  dash  for  victory  or  death — very  fresh  they  were 
then —  and  finally  debarked  at  Ca,mp  Parapet,  near 
Carrolton,  where  camp  was  pitched,  and  the  regiment 
thanked  its  stars  at  having  got  at  last  free  of  the  sand- 
blaze  and  fleas  and  mosquitoes  of  Florida. 

When  the  Sixth  reached  Carrolton  it  hadn't  had  a 
bit  of  a  time  for  a  long  time.  In  fact,  it  was  mad  for 
a  time,  and  as  New  Orleans  is  near  Carrolton,  every 
body  either  got  leave  or  took  it,  and  went  with  the 
avidity  of  city  men  who  hadn't  seen  a  city  for  over  a 
year,  to  see  what  New  Orleans  could  show  them. 
However  there  were  many  provost  guards,  staff  officers 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment,  85 

and  police,  in  New  Orleans,  and  there  was  not  much 
to  do  when  one  did  evade  these  people  ;  and  then  the 
discipline  of  the  regiment  was  good,  and  a  day  or  so 
got  it  entirely  together  in  its  camp  with  the  brigade 
then  present  at  Carrolton.  Col.  Wilson  being  the 
senior  officer,  took  command  of  this  brigade. 
And  soon  afterward  General  T.  W.  S'herman,  then 
commanding  the  division,  going  away,  an  order  was 
issued  placing  Col.  Wilson  in  command  of  the 
division. 

On  December  iQth,  the  regiment  was  moved  from 
Carrolton  to  Baton  Rouge,  and  reached  that  place 
December  2ist,  finding  its  bluffs  a  happy  change  from 
the  swampy  lands  of  the  lower  river. 

Now  the  people  in  Baton  Rouge  at  that  epoch  were 
nervous.  There  were  some  actual,  and  a  good  many 
suppositions  Confederates  outside  the  place,  and 
everybody  desired  reinforcements  ;  so  when  the 
Sixth  disembarked,  and  in  column  of  platoons 
marched  through  the  town,  people  came  out  to  look, 
and  when  they  saw  the  well-brushed  clothes,  bright 
shoulder  scales  and  brasses,  scrupulous  muskets, 
and  brown  faces,  surmounted  by  that  terrible  Hardee 
hat  (the  regiment  wore  the  United  States  regular 
uniform),  and  noted  the  rigid  dress  and  steady 
tread  of  the  platoons,  and  heard  the  sonorous 
commands  given  in  right  West  Point  fashion,  the 
word  went  all  over  that  the  Sixth  regiment  of  United 
States  infantry  had  come  to  town.  And  the 
resemblance  was  at  that  time  very  marked,  for  the 
Sixth,  having  lived  for  a  year  with  the  regulars,  and 
those  the  old  stiff-spined  hard-drilled  regulars  of  the 


86  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


old  army,  had  instinctively  caught  all  their  habits 
and  ways,  and  had  become  most  creditable  machines, 
their  free-and-easy  volunteering  habits  having  been 
pretty  well  knocked  out  of  them. 

That  same  afternoon  the  regiment  encamped  itself 
a  mile  or  so  outside  of  Baton  Rouge,  and  the  people 
in  the  town  were  still  more  astonished  to  find  out 
that  this  solemn,  well-drilled,  and  obedient  body  of 
men,  were  the  newspaper  notorious  "  Billy  Wilson's 
Zouaves,  "  and  still  more  were  the  populace,  civil 
and  military,  "  mixed  up"  when  they  found  out  not 
only  that  these  noted  New  York  Zouaves  were 
steady,  obedient  men,  but  that  the  regular  staff  in 
command  of  the  department  were  in  the  habit  of 
drawing  on  their  officers  for  important  details,  such  as 
inspectors,  judge  advocates  and  the  like  more  delicate 
and  confidential  portions  of  military  duty.  And  in 
truth,  at  this  time  the  regiment  was  in  very  good 
shape.  The  weaker  men  had  been  weeded  out.  The 
incompetent  officers  had  been  got  rid  of.  The  entire 
organization  had  associated  with  regulars  until  they 
had  learned  the  value  of  that  first  of  all  military 
axioms,  that  the  corporal  is  always  right  when  he 
addresses  the  private,  the  sergeant  when  he  talks  to 
the  corporal,  and  so  on  upward  until  the  secretary  of 
war  and  the  president  arc  reached,  who  are  in  turn 
the  first  responsible  to  the  last,  and  the  last  respon 
sible  in  turn  to  the  Nation,  a  proper  understanding  of 
which  is  the  first  essential  toward  the  making  of  a 
good  soldier.  Now,  the  Sixth  had  had  this  idea 
grained  into  them  to  that  extent,  that  they  had 
ceased  to  try  and  think  for  their  superiors,  and  so  con 
fined  their  mentality  to  considerations  of  their  own 


History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment.  87 


individual  rights  and  duties,  and  having  by  practice 
learned  the  mechanics  of  their  trade,  they  had  become 
good  soldiers. 

In  fact,  so  well  had  they  become  instructed  in  the 
various  schools  of  soldier,  company  and  battalion,  that 
there  being  at  that  time  in  the  department  an  influx  of 
new  regiments,  raised  under  the  1862  call,  and  totally 
uninstructed  in  the  A,  B,  C  of  the  profession,  the  Sixth 
found  itself  heavily  engaged  in  the  business  of  mili 
tary  schoolmastership  :  its  officers  passing  their  time 
in  instructing  the  new  arrivals  how  to  get  through  a 
guard-mount,  or  a  company  or  battalion  drill  with 
out  disgrace,  while  the  non-commissioned  of  the 
Sixth  were  detailed  to  the  task  of  teaching  these  new 
levies  the  school  of  the  soldier  and  the  manual  of  the 
piece.  These  toils  and  duties  were  varied  by  scout 
ing  about  the  neighborhood,  looking  up  contraband 
reports  as  to  the  dangerous  citizens,  who  were  mostly 
found  to  be  harmless  enough,  and  in  seizing  cotton, 
which  in  those  days  constituted  the  main  pivot  of  war 
in  the  Department  of  the  Gulf,  for  cotton  was  kingly 
enough  then  to  be  worth  a  dollar  a  pound,  and  every 
one  desired  it  intensely.  The  enemy  when  they 
could  not  remove  it  burned  it  out  of  spite.  The 
army  seized  it  when  not  protected  and  turned  it  over 
to  the  quartermaster,  reaping  no  profit  to  themselves 
thereby,  while  the  navy  whenever  they  found  any 
loose  portions  of  the  fibre,  claimed  and  got  prize 
money  on  the  same,  very  much  to  the  disgust  of  all 
the  other  branches  of  the  service. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  the  regiment  was,  by  special 
order  No  24,  assigned  to  the  First  brigade  of  Gen. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


Cuvier  Grover's  division,  and  led  the  advance  in  the 
feint  on  the  rear  of  Port  Hudson,  which  seemed  to 
the  high  authorities  a  proper  military  operation.  In 
this  movement  .the  Sixth  led  off  with  six  companies 
deployed  as  skirmishers,  worrying  through  the  under 
brush  and  over  the  rough  fields,  while  the  rest  of  the 
battalion  marched  in  column  on  the  road. 

The  object  of  this  operation  was  to  facilitate  the 
passage  of  the  works  at  Port  Hudson  by  the  squadron 
under  Farragut,  and  it  so  chanced  that  when  the 
column  got  well  in  the  rear  of  the  place,  it  heard  the 
contest  of  fort  and  fleet,  and  saw  afar  off,  over  the 
river  bluff,  the  grand  pyrotechnics  of  the  explosion 
of  the  frigate  "  Mississippi,"  when  her  blazing  spars 
and  rigging  soared  high  toward  the  zenith,  as  the  old 
ship  went  through  her  last  agony. 

All  this  was  very  spectacular,  but,  in  a  military 
way,  probably  did  very  little  good,  as  no  attempt  was 
made  on  the  works,  and  the  troops  were  too  far  away 
to  make  much  of  a  diversion  for  the  ships.  At  a 
place  called  "  Plain's  Store,"  where  some  roads  cross 
in  the  rear  of  Port  Hudson,  the  command  did  run  into 
some  Confederates,  and  exchanged  shots,  and  a  few 
people  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  were  dam 
aged,  but  the  whole  movement  was  of  small  account, 
and  the  major  damage  was  only  of  the  sore-footed, 
chafed,  and  disgusted  sort,  except  so  far  as  a  couple 
of  rebel  videttes  went,  who  unfortunately  for  them 
selves,  got  in  the  way  of  Lieut.  Entwisle,  acting- 
adjutant  of  the  Sixth,  who  disabled  one  fellow's 
bridle  hand  with  a  sword  cut,  while  a  cavalry  orderly 
rode  the  other  to  a  stand-still  in  a  ploughed  field,  and 
both  were  taken  prisoners. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  89 


The  return  march  from  this  expedition  was  made 
under  very  weeping  skies.  In  fact,  it  rained  hard 
enough  to  beat  in  the  crown  of  a  cheap  hat,  while  the 
soldiers'  trousers,  which  had  been  brown  at  the  bot 
toms  with  dust  and  sweat,  became  black  with  rain 
water  and  Louisiana  loam.  However,  the  column 
was  not  disheartened,  but  picked  up  a  good  deal  of 
cotton  along  the  road,  and  arrested  such  persons  who 
dared  to  dispute  the  ownership  of  the  textile. 

Altogether  this  raid  was  valuable  training,  as 
accustoming  everybody  to  be  cheerfully  uncomfort 
able,  but  it  effected  little  in  the  way  of  suppressing 
the  rebellion,  and  when  the  Sixth  settled  back  into 
its  camp,  cleaned  its  trousers,  and  got  itself  into 
shape,  it  had  an  internal  feeling  that  perhaps  the 
high  military  authorities  of  the  Department  of  the 
Gulf  were  not  so  much  wiser  than  the  rest  of  the 
world  as  they  would  have  desired  other  people  to 
believe. 


m 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  91 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

*  First  Red  River  Campaign. 

ABOUT  this  time  the  high  authorities  of  the  Depart 
ment  of  the  Gulf  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
main  objectives  of  the  campaign  were  two-fold.  One 
of  them  and  the  most  important,  being  to  open  the 
lower  river  by  the  capture  of  Port  Hudson;  the 
other,  to  seize  Mobile  and  close  the  Gulf  against 
blockade  runners. 

Now,  in  opposition  to  these  schemes  were,  first,  the 
Mobile  garrison;  second,  the  Port  Hudson  garrison; 
and  third  and  most  important,  the  rebel  army  of 
Western  Louisiana,  commanded  by  Gen.  Richard 
Taylor,  a  son  of  President  Zachary  Taylor  of  Buena 
Vista  renown. 

This  force  was  important,  because  it  lay  on  the  left 
flank  of  any  possible  advance  on  Baton  Rouge,  or  if 
the  Mobile  advance  was  decided  on,  a  very  large 
force  would  have  to  be  left  behind  to  garrison 
New  Orleans  and  the  available  points  on  the  river. 
Therefore,  it  seemed  proper  to  commence  either  of 
these  operations  by  driving  Mr.  Taylor  into  the  far 
west,  at  least  as  far  toward  the  sunset  as  he  could  be 
persuaded  to  go.  This  being  effected,  and  Taylor 
aforesaid  eliminated  from  the  equation,  the  problems 


92  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


of  Port    Hudson   and   Mobile   would  become  easy  of 
solution. 

So,  immediately  after  the  feint  on  Port  Hudson,  and 
Farragut's  passage  of  the  forts,  the  troops  in  the 
department  which  had  by  this  time  been  organized 
into  the  historic  Nineteenth  army  corps,  were  massed 
on  transports,  and  to  the  number  of  some  20,000  men, 
.were  directed  against  Gen.  Taylor's  army. 

Western  Louisiana  is  a  very  curious- country.  The 
great  river  cuts  curves  through  a  rich  alluvial  bot 
tom,  and  from  time  to  time,  whenever  it  finds  the 
water  from  its  giant  shed  too  heavy  for  its  own 
canal,  it  sends  off  side-channels  through  the  soft 
and  greasy  soil,  and  these  surplus  waters  after 
much  winding  about,  find  a  grave  in  the  Gulf. 
Of  such  channels  the  principal  one  is  the  Atcha- 
falaya,  which  runs  slowly  through  a  very  rich  country, 
with  broad  spaces  of  sugar  and  cotton  land,  heavy 
forests,  and  rich  pasturage — a  very  heaven  of  a  coun 
try  in  an  agricultural  way — and  for  an  army  which 
controlled  the  river  transportation,  a  very  well  laid 
out  road  through  which  to  conduct  a  campaign. 

A  central  point  in  this  system  of  sluggish,  navigable 
waterways,  was  a  village  callecj  Brashear  City,  and  from 
this  point  the  Nineteenth  corps  set  forth  in  the  spring 
of  1863  to  originate  the  first  Red  River  campaign. 

In  this  process  of  concentration,  the  part  of  the 
Sixth  was  to  leave  Baton  Rouge  March  26th,  to  be 
ferried  across  the  Mississippi  to  Donaldsonville,  and 
then  in  three  days'  easy  marching,  not  over  fourteen 
miles  per  day,  to  arrive  at  Brashear  City. 

Brashear  City,  which  nowadays  is  called  Morgan 
City,  was  a  very  abortive  sort  of  a  place  in  1863.  It 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  93 

had  been  "  horned  and  hadn't  grovved,"  as  a  Louis 
iana  contraband  of  the  period  would  have  put  it,  and 
had  attained  to  the  dignity  of  a  dozen  frame  houses 
close  together  and  a  dozen  more  scattered  along  the 
banks  of  the  bayou.  However,  small  as  it  was, 
Brashear  City  was  a  strategic  point,  and  its  strategic 
value  had  been  illustrated  a  year  before  when  the 
Confederates  had  tried  to  use  it  as  a  pressure  point 
on  New  Orleans,  and  had  been  driven  away  after  a 
well-contested  action  by  Gen.  Godfrey  Weitzel,  at 
the  head  of  that  very  fine  organization,  the  reserve 
brigade  of  the  Department  of  the  Gulf.  General 
Weitzel's  men  had  added  to  the  attractions  of  the 
town  by  constructing  a  stone  fort  to  cover  the 
approaches  to  the  place,  and  there  was  a  garrison  to 
hold  the  position.  Into  this  historic  place  the 
Sixth  entered  on  the  loth  of  April,  1863,  and  were 
on  the  nth  shipped  on  board  transports,  the  steamers 
"Estrella,"  "Clifton"  and  "Laurel  Hill,"  en  route 
up  an  expansion  of  the  bayou  called  Grand  Lake,  to 
another  unknown  place,  named  Indian  Bend. 

The  scheme  of  the  whole  matter  was  this  :  the 
enemy  were  massed  at  Bisland,  twenty  miles  west  of 
Brashear  City,  and  their  line  of  retreat  led  north 
west  via  the  town  of  Franklin.  Now,  an  operation  in 
the  direct  point  of  the  enemy  from  the  line  of  Brash- 
ear  City  would  have  brought  on  a  battle,  which,  if  a 
success,  would  have  resulted  in  Taylor's  having  a 
free  line  of  retreat  ;  if  a  failure,  would  have  spoiled 
the  campaign  entirely.  So,  under  the  advice  of  Gen. 
Weitzel,  it  was  decided  to  turn  Gen.  Taylor  by  way  of 
the  Atchafalaya.  For  at  a  distance  of  twenty  miles  up 
that  stream  is  a  narrow  neck  of  land  with  the  bayou 


94  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

on  the  one  side  and  an  impassable  swamp  on  the 
other.  This  pass  is  only  about  a  mile  across,  and  a 
strong  brigade  could  in  twenty-four  hours  so  cover  it 
self  as  to  be  able  to  hold  its  ground  until  food  and 
cartridges  were  exhausted.  As  this  point  was 
thoroughly  known  to  the  strategic  end  of  the  staff 
and  had  been  entirely  explained  to  Gen.  Grover,  it 
is  one  of  the  unexplained  mysteries  of  the  war  why  a 
clever  trained  and  valiant  soldier  like  Cuvier  Grover, 
whose  record  was  of  the  best,  should  have  so  muddled 
such  an  important  operation. 

But  so  he  did.  Weitzel,  or  whoever  was  responsible 
for  the  campaign,  advanced  two  divisions  direct  on 
Bisland,  and  under  their  pressure,  Taylor,  feeling  his 
position  jeopardized,  yielded  the  ground,  and  retired 
on  his  only  available  line  of  retreat  via  Franklin. 

While  this  operation  was  in  progress,  Grover, 
with  Dwight's  and  two  other  brigades,  progressed  up 
the  Atchafalaya,  but,  alas!  Grover  did  not  take  his 
column  high  enough  up  the  river.  Instead  of  head 
ing  Taylor,  he  dropped  quietly  in  on  his  flanks. 

Landing  at  Indian  Bend,  he  sent  Captain  Denslow 
and  a  detail  of  twenty-four  men  from  the  Sixth,  to  ex 
plore  the  roads  toward  Franklin.  Capt.  Denslow 
worked  out  his  road  without  opposition,  found  it  pass 
able  for  artillery  with  but  little  corduroying,  and  so  re 
ported.  Therefore,  the  next  morning  Gen.  Grover  put, 
his  troops  on  shore,  and  began  to  move  on  Franklin, 
just  about  the  time  that  Gen.  Taylor  was  filing 
along  the  road  leading  through  that  place,  feeling 
probably  that  he  could  easily  block  Grover  with 
detachments,  while  his  trains  were  making  good  their 
escape.  These  movements  brought  on  the  actions 
known  as  Indian  and  Irish  Bends. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  97 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Indian  Bend. — Irish  Bend. 

NATURALLY  all  these  movements  had  called  Gen. 
Taylor's  attention  to  Gen.  Grover,  and  he  had 
detached  a  force  to  check  that  gentleman's  move 
ments.  So,  in  the  morning,  the  enemy  opened  a  bat 
tery  on  the  transports,  and  riddled  the  upper  works 
of  the  high-decked  Mississippi  steamers  with  grape 
and  canister.  As  usual,  during  this  campaign,  the 
Sixth  was  quickly  tumbled  out  of  its  transports  in 
front.  It  formed  up  and  advanced  over  an  open  field, 
with  a  dense  cypress  forest  on  its  further  side.  These 
woods  were  stiffly  held,  and  the  Sixth  marched 
forward  steadily  as  was  its  wont,  firing  and  cheering  ; 
and  later,  as  the  other  troops  were  put  in  line,  the 
woods  were  cleared,  and  against  a  steady  skirmish 
fire  the  leading  brigade  drove  all  and  sundry  through 
wood  and  field  up  to  and  over  the  Teche  river,  which 
was  the  last  obstruction  between  Taylor's  trains  and 
Grover's  advance.  The  crossing  of  this  stream 
ended  that  day's  operations.  Taylor's  troops  had 
been  driven,  but  still  Taylor  was  wending  on  his  way,, 
and  was  still  in  sufficient  strength  to  put  another 
impediment  in  Grover's  path. 

The    next  day,   quite   early  in   the   morning,   Gen. 
Grover  inaugurated  a   tactical   mistake  in  direct  line 


98  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

with  his  previous  strategic  error.  There  was  but  one 
chance  left  for  him  to  make  his  campaign  a  success. 
There  was  no  possibility  of  his  cutting  off 
Gen.  Taylor's  main  column,  and  the  only  remain 
ing  opportunity  of  making  a  success  of  the  movement 
was  to  smash  up  the  covering  force  which  Gen. 
Taylor  had  interposed  to  protect  his  retreat.  Under 
the  existing  situation,  the  proper  course  to  be  pursued 
was  to  engage  these  troops  with  an  advance-guard, 
and  under  cover  of  its  operations,  to  deploy  to  the 
right  so  as  to  cover  that  flank  by  the  swamp,  which, 
with  the  bayou  on  the  left,  made  a  very  strong  posi 
tion  for  such  a  purpose,  and  from  that  point  to  vigor 
ously  turn  the  enemy's  left  and  so  force  him  off  his 
line  of  retreat  on  Franklin. 

When  the  troops  were  landed  from  their  transports 
the  situation  was  briefly  as  follows  : 

Gen.  Grover  had  missed  his  strategic  point  by  some 
five  or  six  miles  in  the  distance,  and  a  few  hours  in 
time,  but  still  his  troops  were  on  shore  and  on  the 
flank  of  General  Taylor's  line  of  retreat,  and  there 
was  a  living  chance  of  striking  a  crippling  blow  at 
the  Confederate  column.  Now,  as  Grover's  force 
faced  west  and  Taylor  was  moving  across  him  in  a 
direction  somewhat  north  of  east,  it  ought  to  have 
been  obvious  that  the  weight  of  the  attack  should 
have  been  directed  from  Grover's  right,  so,  if  possible, 
to  have  seized  the  road  'north  of  the  village  of 
Franklin,  which  was  about  a  mile  and  a  half  west  of 
the  Irish  Bend  of  the  Teche,  with  a  fair  road  running 
through  timber  connecting  the  two  positions. 

In   front   of  the    landing  was   a   large  open   field, 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


99 


backed  and  flanked  by  heavy  timber  and  underbrush, 
which  on  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  open  ground 
reached  to  the  bayou,  and  across  this  field  led  the 
direct  road  to  Franklin.  On  the  ground  near  the 
landing,  stood  an  abandoned  sugar  house,  which  soon 
became  filled  with  wounded  and  dying  men,  and  its 
air  polluted  with  that  curious  mixed  odor  of  blood 
and  chloroform,  which,  to  be  appreciated  must  be 
experienced,  while  outside  of  its  door  speedily  grew 
a  ghastly  pile  of  amputated  legs  and  arms. 

To  fight  this  battle,  Gen.  Grover  began  by  throwing 
forward  Bradley's  battery  of  the  Fifth  United  States 
artillery,  while  forming  Birge's  brigade  for  a  direct 
attack  up  the  Franklin  road,  Dwight's  brigade  re 
maining  in  column,  partly  on  the  Franklin  road  and 
partly  on  a  road  which  ran  parallel  with  the  bayou. 

Closson,  as  chief  of  artillery,  got  his  own  and 
Bradley's  guns  promptly  into  position  and  opened  on 
the  woods,  while  Birge  advanced  to  the  attack. 
Birge  was  a  good  soldier  and  had  a  good  brigade,  but 
as  he  pushed  forward,  the  error  of  the  plan  of  attack 
exposed  itself.  Birge's  left  was  too  far  to  the  south, 
and  his  right  "  entirely  in  air"  was  enfiladed  from 
the  woods  which  flanked  it.  The  further  he  advanced 
the  worse  became  his  position,  and  finally  his  unpro 
tected  right  being  ground  up,  his  brigade  gave  way 
and  fell  back  to  its  first  position,  leaving  the  grounds 
well  dotted  with  quiet  or  writhing  men  in  blue,  and 
the  batteries,  which  remained  in  position,  exposed  to 
a  peppering  which  rapidly  converted  Bradley's  into 
a  very  charnel  house  of  dead  and  wounded  men  and 
horses.  This  did  not  augur  well  for  success,  but 
Gen.  Grover  was  a  fighting  man,  first,  last  and  all  the 


ioo  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


time,  and  when  he  saw  Birge's  men  come  back,  he 
promptly  got  Dwight  out  of  the  road  and  ordered  his 
brigade  forward,  while  the  two  batteries  cracked 
away  rapidly,  and  the  smoke-grimed  gunners 
worked  at  their  pieces  until  they  fairly  jumped  with 
the  recoil. 

Dwight's  attack  was  made  on  a  somewhat  better 
line  than  Birge's,  inasmuch  as  its  weight  was  directed 
more  toward  the  right.  On  the  extreme  right  of  this 
brigade  was  the  Sixth,  while  in  the  line  were  those 
steadfast  battalions  of  the  Metropolitan  Brigade,  the 
I3ist  and  I33d  New  York,  and  the  Qist  New  York 
from  Albany. 

When  the  Sixth  came  under  the  flank-fire  from  the 
woods,  its  line  was  refused  at  an  angle  with  the 
general  brigade  front,  and  it  commenced  to  move  on 
the  wood.  This  movement  made  a  gap  between  the 
Sixth's  left  and  the  right  of  the  next  regiment  in  line, 
and  Gen.  Dwight  sent  Capt.  Denslow  of  his  staff  to 
move  the  Sixth  by  a  left  oblique  so  as  to  close  the 
gap.  But  the  Sixth  didn't  seem  to  be  inclined  that 
way  ;  there  was  a  heavy  fire  in  front,  and  the  regi 
ment  returned  it  savagely,  and  charged  the  timber  in 
good  order  and  with  great  vigor. 

This  charge  settled  the  day,  for  when  the  Sixth, 
dropping  men  rapidly  from  its  ranks,  broke  fiercely 
into  the  woods,  which  were  well  marked  with  shot  and 
strewn  with  bodies,  the  whole  Confederate  line  gave 
way  and  scuttled  off  as  fast  as  it  could  after  Tay 
lor's  main  column,  which  by  this  time  had  got  well 
past  Grover  on  its  road  to  Washington.  The  fact  was 
that  the  line  of  the  attack  of  the  Sixth  was  tactically 
the  proper  one,  and  so  soon  as  the  troops  confront- 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  101 


ing-  Dwight's  line  found  that  an  importunate  regi 
ment  like  the  Sixth  was  in  a  fair  way  to  lay  hold  of 
their  line  of  retreat,  they  promptly  got  out  of  the 
way,  and  so  ended  the  fight  at  Irish  Bend,  except  for 
the  wounded  in  hospital,  and  the  reminiscences  of 
the  survivors. 

In  this  engagement  the  Sixth  picked  up  a  number 
of  prisoners  and  arms,  and  if  the  regiment  had  not 
been  called  back  by  orders  from  headquarters,  it 
would  have  seized  the  Franklin  road  and  have  gotten 
into  Taylor's  train  which  was  in  sight  when  the  order 
came. 

Among  the  incidents  of  this  charge  of  the  Sixth, 
was  an  exploit  of  Corporal  James  Smith,  of  Company 
I,  who  being  thrown  forward  on  the  right  of  the  regi 
ment  with  twenty  men,  got  in  on  the  flank  of  the 
enemy's  retreat  and  made  a  good  haul  of  prisoners,  the 
corporal  himself  capturing  no  less  than  three  of  them 
single  handed  and  at  one  and  the  selfsame  time.  In 
fact,  the  regiment  generally  did  very  well  in  the 
prisoner  business,  but  as  every  private  knew  that  a 
great  success  had  been  missed  by  blundering,  the 
whole  command  felt  profoundly  disgusted. 

After  the  withdrawal  of  the  enemy's  flank  guard 
owing  to  their  defeat  at  Irish  Bend,  the  column,  led 
by  the  Sixth,  pressed  forward  into  the  town  of 
Franklin,  with  everybody  in  good  spirits,  and  feeling 
that  their  fighting  had  produced  the  required  results 
— and  that  General  Taylor's  column  instead  of 
marching  cheerfully  toward  Alexandria,  should  have 
been  in  process  of  being  crowded  over  into  bayou 
Vermillion  or  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Alas  !  there  had 
been  a  mistake,  and  all  the  tiresome  crowding  on 


102  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

steamers  ;  all  the  hard  marching  through  cotton 
fields  and  timber  lands,  was  to  go  for  nothing  ;  and 
all  the  plucky  fighting  at  Irish  Bend  was  to  be  only 
illustrative  of  the  discipline  of  the  regiment,  for  the 
enemy  had  slipped  by.  General  Grover  had  missed 
his  chance,  and  when  the  Sixth  in  advance  came  near 
the  town  of  Franklin  they  found  nothing  to  fight  ; 
but  only  the  remains  of  a  retreating  column  such  as  a 
few  abandoned  equipments,  certain  sick  and  wounded 
men,  and  a  few  broken  down  wagons. 

And  so  the  whole  position  was  changed,  for  instead 
of  being  an  important  flanking  column,  destined  by  its 
route  and  fighting  weight  to  conclude  a  campaign  by 
a  single  stroke,  Grover's  division  found  itself  simply 
the  advance  of  one  column  chasing  another  ;  and  felt 
as  it  tramped  out  of  Franklin  on  the  road  leading 
northwest  toward  Alexandria,  that  if  they  were 
marched  to  Shreveport  the  enemy  would  be  still  far 
in  advance  of  them,  and  all  resulting  combats  would 
be  simply  loss  of  life.  For  as  the  old  saying  has  it, 
"  a  stern  chase  is  a  long  chase  "  and  to  drive  a 
retreating  army,  with  its  roads  open,  to  a  decisive 
battle,  is  one  of  those  military  problems  more  often 
essayed  than  solved. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  103 


CHAPTER  X. 

Vermillion  Bayou. — Alexandria. 

THE  twenty  miles  march  between  Franklin  and 
Vermillion  Bayou,  was  over  dusty  roads  and  under  a 
broiling-  sun.  The  bayou  here  is  crossed  by  a  bridge, 
which  Gen.  Taylor  had  burned,  and  to  get  a  good 
start  for  his  trains  he  had  placed  artillery  and  infantry 
in  position  on  his  side  of  the  stream  in  order  to  impede 
the  progress  of  Gen.  Banks'  army.  This  idea  of  Tay 
lor's  brought  on  the  fight  at  Vermillion  Bayou,  and 
Grover's  division  with  Dwight's  brigade  at  the  front, 
commenced  it. 

The  only  thing  to  do  was  to  drive  the  enemy  far 
enough  away  to  enable  a  pontoon  bridge  to  be  thrown 
over  the  stream.  So  Capt.  Closson,  U.  S.  A.,  chief  of 
artillery,  went  up  on  the  skirmish  line  of  the  Sixth, 
which  as  usual  was  in  advance,  and  soon  hammered  the 
enemy's  artillery  out  of  position,  and  by  the  time  he 
had  disposed  of  his  special  antagonists  a  line  of  infantry 
composed  of  the  Sixth,  the  I3ist  and  the  I33d 
New  York  and  the  I2th  Maine  regiments  had  got  into 
position,  and  so  hardly  swept  the  approaches  with 
rifle  fire,  that  after  about  four  hours  of  shooting 
Taylor's  troops  gathered  up  their  wounded,  left  their 
dead  behind  them  and  took  themselves  out  of  range. 


io4  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


This  action  was  enlivened  for  the  Sixth  by  the 
arrival  of  Captain  Charles  E.  Heuberer  of  Com 
pany  H.  who  having  been  left  behind  sick  in  quarters 
at  Baton  Rouge,  had  managed  either  to  buy,  hire  or 
confiscate  (this  transaction  has  never  been  properly 
cleared  up)  a  barouche  and  mules,  and  after  a  drive  of 
a  hundred  miles  alone  through  the  enemy's  country, 
where  existed  many  pestilential  guerillas,  under  a 
Louisiana  sun,  and  with  the  accompanying  labor  of 
forcing  along  a  contraband  and  his  team,  he  reached  the 
regiment  just  in  the  middle  of  the  action.  However 
Captain  Heuberer  had  acquired  his  team  and  outfit 
and  whatever  after-disposition  he  made  of  the  same, 
including  the  contraband  driver,  he  certainly  dis 
played  zeal  in  his  efforts  to  catch  up  with  the  column  ; 
for  not  only  was  the  ride  a  hard  one  but  the  inhabit 
ants  were  most  of  them  guerillas,  and  their  habits 
were  bad,  and  people  caught  in  the  gaps  of  the  column 
stood  a  good  chance  of  being  incontinently  shot— 
which  fate  had  happened  about  this  time  to  General 
Dwight's  brother  while  wandering  along  this  road. 
At  any  rate  the  captain  was  received  with  cheering 
and  hearty  welcome  by  the  regiment  when  he  dis 
mounted  from  his  chariot,  and  many  people  wished 
that  the  custom  of  the  service  would  give  a  barouche 
for  each  man,  especially  when  marching  through 
western  Louisiana  in  the  hot  months. 

The  day  after  this  action  the  pontoon  bridge 
having  been  laid,  the  column,  with  the  Sixth 
still  in  advance,  crossed  over  the  stream.  The 
interval  between  the  fight  and  the  crossing 
having  been  enlivened  by  the  accidental  killing 
of  a  couple  of  soldiers  from  one  of  the  new 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  107 


volunteer  regiments,  who  were  as  a  class  given  to 
careless  handling  of  their  weapons. 

When  the  bridge  was  crossed  on  the  iQth  of  April, 
General  Banks  having  absolutely  failed  in  his 
campaign,  bethought  himself  of  the  custom  of  the  first 
Napoleon  under  similar  circumstances,  and  issued  a 
proclamation  addressed,  "Soldiers!"  in  which  docu 
ment  after  congratulating  the  troops  on  having 
learned  how  to  endure  fatigue  and  suffering  (which 
facts  they  did  not  require  to  be  told  about)  he  informed 
them  that  they  had  scattered  and  crippled  the  enemy, 
destroyed  his  essential  muniments  of  war  so  as  to 
render  his  army  incapable  of  reorganization,  and  also 
paralyzed  the  Opelousas  salt  works  on  which  had 
rested  the  life  of  the  Confederacy  for  a  year  or 
two. 

To  this  Napoleonism  the  rank  and  file,  especially 
such  sharp  city  men  as  composed  the  Sixth,  said 
"  bosh."  To  be  sure  they  had  beaten  the  enemy  where- 
ever  they  had  struck  him.  They  had  destroyed  a 
quantity  of  material  of  war,  and  a  detachment  from  the 
Sixth  had  burned  the  buildings  and  materials  of  the 
salt  works,  but  every  one  knew  that  if  Banks  and  his 
staff  had  properly  handled  matters,  Dick  Taylor's 
army  would  have  been  talked  about  as  the  late  army 
of  General  Richard  Taylor.  Everybody  likewise 
knew  that  Taylor's  army  was  intact,  and  had  a  clear 
line  of  retreat,  and  everyone  likewise  knew  that  the 
Confederacy  didn't  live  on  salt  ;  and  if  it  did,  it  drew 
the  bulk  of  its  supplies  of  that  article  from  West 
Virginia  and  not  from  Louisiana.  However  as  no  one 
expected  much  from  General  Banks,  his  proclamation 
did  not  enthuse  anyone,  and  so  soon  as  the  column 


io8  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

had    got  itself   disentangled    from    the    pontoon    and 
village  it  set  its  head  toward  Alexandria. 

This  march  took  from  April  iQth  to  May  /th,  lead 
ing  through  Lafayette  and  Opelousas  and  reaching 
Alexandria  on  May  8th.  It  was  hot  and  tiresome,  with 
bad  roads  and  heavy  showers,  and  the  last  day  was  a 
very  hard  pull  indeed,  some  thirty  miles  being  covered 
by  the  tired  and  heavily  loaded  men,  and  it  wound  up  so 
far  as  the  Sixth  was  concerned  by  a  bivouac  between 
the  rows  of  a  sugar  plantation,  which  were  converted 
into  wet  ditches  by  a  heavy  shower  of  rain,  and  gave  a 
very  proper  but  not  acceptable  bath  to  the  regi 
ment. 

This  march  was  enlivened  by  some  skirmishing, 
some  raiding  on  cotton  and  sugar  plantations,  and  by 
certain  curious  performances  on  the  part  of  General 
Dwight.  General  Dwight  had  ideas  of  discipline  quite 
outside  of  the  regulations  of  the  army,  and  he  dis 
played  the  same  by  ordering  and  carrying  out  the 
military  execution  of  a  couple  of  men  without  any 
court-martial  or  even  proper  investigation  of  the 
facts.  The  first  of  these  unfortunates  was  a  private 
in  the  I3ist  New  York,  who  had  laid  hands  of 
possession  on  certain  under-garments  which  did  not 
belong  to  him  and  were  not  at  the  time  on  any  one's 
person  ;  his  action  was  probably  prompted  by  a 
sense  of  cleanliness,  for  his  own  garments  were  in 
a  very  bad  state,  but  nevertheless  General  Dwight 
saw  fit,  by  order,  and  with  uncalled  for  brutality,  to 
have  the  poor  creature  shot,  with  the  brigade  looking 
on  much  disgusted  with  the  whole  proceeding,  for 
although  the  American  volunteer  believed  in  dis 
cipline,  he  did  not  belive  in  what  he  would  have  called 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  109 


''dam  fool,"  and  this  affair  did  not  endear  General 
Dwight  to  his  troops. 

General  Dwight's  other  performance  in  the  military 
execution  line  was  in  the  way  of  personal  vengeance 
for  his  brother  having  been  shot  by  some  person  un 
known  ;  so  he  promptly  selected  the  first  stray  guerilla 
caught,  and  had  this  unfortunate  man  also  shot  to 
death.  General  Grover  hearing  however  of  these  in 
cidents,  and  that  General  Dwight  was  going  to  have 
shot  another  man,  one  of  the  gist  New  York,  directed 
that  no  person  should  be  executed  except  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  regulations  in  such  cases  made  and 
provided. 

General  Weitzel's  brigade  led  into  Alexandria,  and 
Dwight's  troops  followed  immediately.  Weitzel 
marched  through  the  town  and  encamped  four  or  five 
miles  beyond,  leaving  seven  companies  in  charge  of 
the  place,  which  were  relieved  so  soon  as  Dwight's 
brigade  came  up  and  as  the  corps  began  to  get  in 
position  around  the  town,  by  the  Sixth,  who  were  by 
Special  Orders  No,  3,  Nineteenth  Army  Corps,  desig 
nated  as  the  provost  guard. 

Now  troops  detailed  to  duty  as  provost  guards  are 
those  known  to  be  steady  and  well  disciplined  men, 
whose  duties  although  onerous  and  disagreeable,  are  at 
the  same  time  very  important,  and  the  detail  is  a  com 
plimentary  one,  although  it  requires  much  guard  duty, 
and  endless  patrolling  for  the  purpose  of  arresting 
various  evil-doers — such  persons  for  example  as  have 
too  lovingly  looked  upon  the  cup  which  cheers,  and  if 
one  takes  too  much  thereof  likewise  inebriates — or 
those  other  misguided  people  whose  taste  for  games  of 
chance  keeps  them  out  of  camp  after  retreat.  Or 


no  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

even  the  duty  may  be  so  far  extended  in  a  dis 
ciplinary  way  as  to  include  those  very  forgivable 
sinners  whose  sense  of  military  obligation  may  have 
waned  in  view  of  the  attractions  of  the  other  sex. 

All  of  this  provost  business  in  an  army  is  of  the 
nature  of  police  duty,  and  as  such  very  often  dis 
agreeable  to  execute,  but  at  the  same  time  the  work- 
is  necessary,  and  to  properly  carry  out  requires  the 
very  best  discipline  on  the  part  of  both  officers 
and  men. 

This  business  was  accepted  as  a  proper  although 
disagreeable  duty  by  the  Sixth,  and  the  regiment 
proceeded  to  execute  the  matter  in  charge  in  strict 
accordance  with  its  orders.  It  arrested  all  the 
varieties  of  offenders  against  the  lex  militarium  alluded 
to  above,  and  consigned  them  to  durance  in  the 
guard-house.  It  also  picked  up  and  took  care  of  in 
various  ways,  all  manner  of  refugees.  Ethiopians 
who  had  eloped  from  plantations,  stray  Louisiana 
white  natives,  whose  argument  usually  was  that  the 
Confederates  had  driven  them  from  house  and  home, 
but  whose  mission  really  was  first  to  pick  up  informa 
tion  and  second  to  secure  any  such  trifles  in  the  way 
of  quartermaster's  or  commissary  stores  as  might 
fall  in  their  way.  These  people  were  of  both  sexes  and 
were  of  much  trouble  to  the  constitued  authorities. 

The  long  forced  march  up  to  Alexandria,  had 
hardened  the  men's  muscles  and  bronzed  their  faces, 
and  as  they  had  previously  had  grained  in  on  them 
the  absolute  necessity  of  keeping  arms,  accoutrements 
and  clothes  in  good  order,  the  battalion  when 
paraded  had  a  hard  fighting  look  about  it  which 
commended  it  to  all  officers.  Two  weeks  of  this 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


in 


provost  duty  being  satisfactorily  performed,  and  the 
regiment's  term  of  service  having  expired  nearly  a 
month  before  this  date,  higher  authority  unwillingly 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Sixth  must  be  sent 
home. 

During  this  first  Red  River  campaign  while  the 
regiment  was  doing  provost  duty  at  Alexandria, 
Company  H  happening  to  go  on  a  scout  chanced  upon 
a  corn  mill  in  good  order,  and  the  Captain  immediate 
ly  commenced  his  apprenticeship  as  a  miller  by  ac 
quiring  a  sufficiency  of  mules  and  beginning  to  grind 
corn  meal  for  the  command. 


SIXTH  REGIMENT  IN  LOUISIANA,  1863.     Follow~~-~LineB, 

New  Orleans  to  Carrolton-  Camp  Parapet — Baton  Rouge— Port  Hudson— Donaldson- 
ville— Napoleonville— Thibodeaux— Bayou  Bomf— - Brashear  City— Grand  Lake— Indian 
Bend— Irish  Bend— Franklin— New  Iberia— Bayou  Vermillion— Opelousas— Washington 
— Moundaville  -Alexandria— Siramesport  -  Algiers-  U.  S.  Barracks,  New  Orleans. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  113 


CHAPTER  XL 

Going  Home. — Muster  Out. 

HAVING  pretty  well  surveyed  Louisiana,  as  will  be 
seen  by  the  map  on  opposite  page,  and  having  obeyed 
all  orders  and  done  what  it  was  told  to  do,  and  the 
regiment  having  more  than  served  its  full  time  of  en 
listment  for  two  years,  there  was  no  possible  excuse 
for  longer  holding  it  ;  but  all  the  same  the  necessity  of 
a  muster-out  was  a  great  military  grief  to  all  concerned. 

The  campaign  just  ended  had  for  its  real  objective 
the  capture  of  Port  Hudson,  which,  joined  to  the 
operations  against  Vicksburg,  if  successful,  would 
open  the  great  river,  and  so  split  the  Confederacy  in 
two.  But  on  the  part  of  the  Nineteenth  army  corps 
the  proper  preliminary  was  to  drive  away  or  destroy 
General  Dick  Taylor's  army  of  Western  Louisiana, 
which  if  not  gotten  rid  of  would  naturally  remain  a 
menace  not  only  to  New  Orleans,  but  to  the  base  of 
the  besieging  army  or  its  communications  below 
Baton  Rouge. 

Now,  the  strategy  of  the  campaign  had  been 
perfectly  well  worked  out  so  far  as  the  movements 
were  concerned — but  had  failed  so  far  as  destroying 
Taylor's  army  went ;  still  it  had  shaken  him  up  badly, 
and  for  the  present  he  was  disabled,  and  the  Nine- 


Ti4  History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment. 

teenth  corps  was  left  free  to  commence  its  march  on 
Port  Hudson. 

And  at  this  crucial  moment,  when  the  corps,  which 
was  largely  made  up  of  new  and  green  regiments, 
needed  all  the  trained  men  it  could  get,  the  absurdity 
of  the  plan  on  which  the  War  Department  had  en 
listed  the  volunteers  of  1861  was  demonstrated  ;  and 
the  Sixth,  trained,  tried  and  vigorous,  and  in  fighting 
potency  equal  to  a  full  brigade  of  the  1862  and  nine 
months'  men,  simply  had  to  be  sent  home.  Truly  the 
economics  of  the  conduct  of  the  civil  war  were  like 
"  The  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  understanding." 

Nevertheless  on  the  iQth  of  May,  1863,  by  virtue  of 
Special  Order  No.  120,  Department  of  the  Gulf,  the 
regiment  turned  its  back  on  all  sorts  of  military  pos 
sibilities,  and  being  well  hardened  to  marching, 
tramped  over  the  forty  mile  road  to  Simmesport,  on 
the  Atchafalaya,  in  two  days,  and  was  there  embark 
ed  on  steamboats  for  Brashear  City,  and  thence  went 
by  railway  to  New  Orleans,  which  was  reached  on 
May  24th,  where  it  was  quartered  in  the  United 
States  Barracks  ;  and  ten  days  later  it  embarked  on 
the  steamer  "  Cahawba  "  for  home,  having  in  charge 
as  guests  some  fifty  Confederate  officers  sent  north  for 
exchange. 

These  gentlemen  the  Sixth  found  a  very  pleasant 
lot  of  fellows,  and  as  it  is  much  pleasanter  to  drink 
and  exchange  yarns  with  a  man  than  to  shoot  at  him, 
the  officers  and  men  got  on  the  best  of  terms  with 
their  friends  the  enemy,  and  their  companionship  did 
much  to  lessen  the  monotony  of  the  voyage  to  Fort 
ress  Monroe,  where  the  captives  were  landed,  and  the 
"  Cahawba"  steamed  northward.  Col.  Wilson  having 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  115 

a  receipt  for  these  officers  was  free  of  further  responsi 
bility,  but  somebody  in  the  provost  department  at 
Fortress  Monroe  must  have  blundered  strangely,  for 
instead  of  sending  these  people  under  a  proper  guard 
to  City  Point  for  exchange,  it  trusted  them  insuffici 
ently  guarded  in  a  tug  boat.  The  temptation  was  too 
strong,  and  the  enterprising  fifty  stole  the  tug  and 
safely  navigated  it  and  themselves  to  the  shelter  of 
their  own  lines,  all  of  which  was  a  good  joke  on 
somebody. 

The  "Cahawba"  paddled  her  way  up  the  coast 
safely  and  quietly,  brought  "  Highland  lights  abeam," 
rounded  the  low  point  of  Sandy  Hook,  and  in  due 
course  tied  up  at  her  pier  in  New  York.  The  regi 
ment  disembarked,  marched  to  the  City  Hall  Park 
Barracks,  and  after  a  short  delay  stacked  arms  for  the 
last  time. 

While  the  regiment  was  marching  up  Broadway 
every  eye  was  attracted  to  "  Billy"  the  goat,  who 
having  survived  all  sorts  of  hardships  and  adventures 
marched  proudly  at  the  head  of  the  column  with  his 
horns  decked  with  ribbons,  and  many  people  regard 
ed  with  amusement  Private  Degan  of  Company  I,  who 
had  strapped  his  pet  alligator  on  his  back  so  tight 
that  the  poor  reptile  died  on  the  march. 

On  the  25th  day  of  June,  1863,  the  regiment  was 
mustered  out  of  the  United  States  service,  the  men 
were  paid,  and  scattered  to  their  several  homes, 
and  so  broke  up  the  fair  fellowship  of  the  Sixth 
just  at  the  time  when  by  reason  of  much  labor 
on  the  part  of  officers  and  men  it  had  been  brought 
into  such  military  condition  that  it  would  have  been 
a  credit  to  any  service. 


n6    ,  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

Of  course  the  officers  of  the  regiment  had  the  in 
evitable  circus  with  the  various  supply  departments 
of  the  army,  and  out  of  the  adjustments  of  accounts 
came  a  very  good  joke  to  every  one  concernd  except 
the  unfortunate  who  was  the  victim,  for  there  happened 
to  be  a  slight  shortage  of  muskets  in  the  regiment, 
and  a  certain  ingenious  captain  who  had  a  deficiency 
of  some  twenty  pieces  adopted  the  device  of  helping 
himself  out  of  the  stacks  of  arms  to  sufficient  of  them 
to  fill  his  requirements.  Captain  number  two  follow 
ed  suit  and  so  on  until  all  the  muskets  were  gone,  and 
the  unfortunate  who  was  last,  found  himself  in  a  very 
unpleasant  controversy  with  the  Ordnance  Depart 
ment,  which  furnished  him  employment  for  a  consid 
erable  time. 

Within  a  couple  of  weeks  after  the  muster  out  the 
draft  riots  in  New  York  broke  out,  and  the  riotous 
element  of  the  neighborhood  of  the  city  also  went 
out  into  resistance  against  the  law,  and  joined  to  their 
procedures  attacks  on  life  and  private  property. 

In  this  exigency  the  citizens  of  Richmond  County 
(Staten  Island)  remembered  that  when  the  Sixth  had 
been  in  camp  at  the  old  Quarantine  Grounds  two 
years  before,  its  good  order  and  discipline  had  been 
in  such  marked  contrast  to  that  of  other  regiments 
who  had  rendezvoused  on  the  Island,  that  they  pe 
titioned  the  Governor  (Seymour)  in  a  document  sign 
ed  by  their  most  prominent  citizens  to  request  Col. 
Wilson  to  come  to  them  with  such  troops  as  he  could 
collect  and  they  could  raise,  and  take  charge  of  the 
county.  Governor  Seymour  acceded  promptly,  and 
Col.  Wilson  with  such  men  as  he  could  find,  including 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  117 


a  number  of  the  Sixth,  both  from  New  York  and  a 
Paterson  delegation,  and  some  of  his  old  officers 
including  Captain  Heuberer,  went  down  to  the  island, 
formed  camp,  and  with  a  proper  system  of  guards  and 
patrols  soon  brought  things  into  proper  order.  In 
fact  the  hard  brown  faces  of  the  veterans  of  the 
Sixth  at  that  time  were  enough  to  frighten  the  very 
souls  out  of  an  ordinary  mob. 

This  creditable  piece  of  duty  was  the  last  one  per 
formed  by  Col.  Wilson  and  the  men  of  his  regiment. 
Col.  Wilson  deserved  and  should  have  had  his  star, 
but  in  those  days  the  woods  were  full  of  brigadiers  ; 
while  so  far  as  the  regiment  was  concerned  instead 
of  trying  to  reorganize  it  with  the  advantage  of  its 
excellent  organization  and  esprit  de  corps,  officers 
and  men  drifted  apart,  and  although  numbers  of  them 
afterwards  did  the  State  good  service  both  on  land 
and  sea,  the  regiment,  as  a  regiment,  marched  and 
fought  no  more. 


1 1 8  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Resume. 

IN  regard  to  the  association  of  the  Sixth  with  the 
regular  troops  in  the  Florida  garrisons  during  the 
years  1861  and  1862,  a  good  deal  has  already  been 
said.  But  perhaps  it  is  a  necessary  repetition  to  state 
again  that  it  was  close  and  cordial,  and,  from  an 
educational  point  of  view,  invaluable  to  the  regiment. 
For,  in  fact,  education  is  always  more  the  product  of 
imitation  than  of  instruction  ;  and  in  the  instruction  of 
soldiers,  given  intelligent  and  brave  men  with  officers 
of  zeal  and  conduct,  the  quickest  and  best  results  are 
had  if  the  new  troops  have  under  their  observation  the 
whole  time  the  example  of  thoroughly  instructed  and 
disciplined  soldiers. 

The  truth  of  this  axiom  was  not  recognized  by  the 
War  Department  during  the  civil  war.  If  the  Secre 
tary  had  understood  the  situation,  the  drilled  troops 
of  the  regular  army  would  have  been  used  as  leaven  to 
leaven  the  mass.  In  fact  the  regular  army  should  have 
ceased  to  existas  an  organization,  and  its  training  and 
esprit  de  corps  should  have  been  devoted  to  the 
education  of  the  enthusiastic  and  willing  volunteers 
who,  in  many  cases,  when  they  first  put  on  the  uni 
form,  militarily  speaking,  did  not  know  their  right 
hands  from  their  left. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  1 1 9 

In  the  matter  of  the  battle  of  Santa  Rosa  Island, 
and  after  a  careful  study  of  the  official  reports  of  the 
civil  war,  published  by  the  War  Department  of  the 
United  States,  no  one  can  doubt  but  that  Col.  Brown 
was  surprised,  and  that  he  did  not  understand  until 
the  affair  was  over  exactly  what  it  all  meant. 

Perhaps  Col.  Brown  could  have  found  an  excuse  in 
this  matter,  because  the  instructions  in  the  Depart 
ment  at  that  time  from  Washington  were,  "  Do  not 
commit  any  overt  act  !  "  But  he  should  have  con 
sidered  the  fact  that  General  Bragg  was  not  under 
such  orders,  and  that  he  therefore  should  have  properly 
protected  his  position  against  any  attempt  on  the  part 
of  the  enemy. 

But  Col.  Brown  did  not  appreciate  the  position.  He 
did  not  entrench  the  Sixth.  He  did  not  have  the  field 
battery  organized,  and  he  did  not,  when  the  attack 
developed  itself,  rise  to  the  situation  until  the  time 
was  lost.  If  he  had  properly  diagnozed  the  affair,  the 
Confederates  would  have  lost  in  prisoners  at  least  a 
thousand  men,  and  a  steamer  or  two,  and  Col.  Brown 
would  have  won  renown. 

In  consideration  of  this  battle  it  is  not  only 
evident  that  Col.  Harvey  Brown  was  surprised 
at  the  time  of  the  action,  but  also  that  he  did 
not  appreciate  the  situation  of  his  command.  Obvi 
ously  the  enemy  having  a  large  force  in  hand  and  the 
command  of  the  bay,  would  be  inclined  to  land  troops 
on  the  island  and  attack  the  position.  In  fact,  if 
Bragg  had  not  done  so,  he  would  have  been  absolutely 
derelict.  Every  officer  then  on  Santa  Rosa,  except 
the  commander,  recognized  such  a  probability,  and 
yet  Col.  Brown  left  the  defence  of  his  rear,  on  which 


120  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


the  attack  would  naturally  fall,  to  a  depleted  regi 
ment  of  infantry,  and  did  not  even  take  the  simple 
precaution  of  having  the  camp  of  the  Sixth  entrenched 
and  of  putting  his  field  battery  in  order.  A  very  slight 
entrenchment,  with  a  couple  of  light  twelves  to  assist 
the  muskets  would — judging  from  the  stubborn  way  in 
which  the  Sixth,  surprised,  uncovered  and  outnum 
bered  held  their  ground — have  ensured  a  bloody  re 
pulse  of  Anderson's  column,  and  the  ensuing  pursuit 
promptly  pressed  would  have  resulted  in  the  capture 
of  most  of  the  enemy,  which  would,  at  that  stage  of 
the  war,  have  very  likely  converted  Col.  Brown  into 
a  major-general.  There  was  not  a  regular  officer  then 
at  Santa  Rosa  and  very  few  volunteers  who  would  not 
have  taken  such  obvious  precautions,  and  so  the  regret 
is  that  Col.  Brown  had  not  sooner  been  relieved  by 
Gen.  L.  J.  Arnold,  or  by  Closson,  or  Langdon,  or  Pen- 
nington,  or  Col.  Wilson,  or  any  other  man  of  the  able 
staff  then  at  the  post. 

After  the  occupation  of  Pensacola  there  were,  as 
stated  in  this  history,  several  expeditions  to  places  in 
the  neighborhood,  which  were  as  being  directed  against 
the  enemy's  public  property  quite  proper.  In  one  of 
these  toward  Oakfield  a  detachment  from  a  Maine  regi 
ment  lost  fifteen  men.  The  Sixth  did  very  little  of  this, 
but  on  one  occasion  the  picket  reserve  of  Company  A, 
among  them  corporal  John  Smith  and  John  S. 
McLoughlin,  did  go  out  to  Oakfield  and  was  run  in, 
but  the  men  were  too  well  trained  to  be ""  grabbed," 
and  so  came  back  bringing  with  them  two  of  their 
wounded. 

In  this  history  two  prominent  men,  who  held  high 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  121 


commands,  have  been  severely  criticised.  One  of 
these  officers  is  Gen.  Banks,  who  commancled  the 
Department  of  the  Gulf  when  the  Sixth  was  in  service 
in  Louisiana.  Criticism  on  Banks  as  a  general  officer 
needs  no  palliation.  Gen.  Banks  was  a  clever  man 
and  an  adroit  politician  and  parliamentarian,  but  for  a 
military  leader  he  had  only  one  qualification,  that  of 
personal  courage.  Apart  from  that  he  was  an  absolute 
detrimental.  In  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah  he  was 
known  as  ''Stonewall  Jackson's  commissary,"  and  in 
Louisiana  he  "  muffed  "  the  first  Red  River  campaign, 
mismanaged  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson,  and  wound  up 
his  career  by  being  absolutely  thrashed  in  the  second 
Red  River  campaign  by  an  inferior  force,  although  the 
troops  under  his  command  were  sufficient,  with  the 
auxiliary  fleet,  to  have  driven  Dick  Taylor's  army  to 
the  Texas  frontier  if  required,  and  the  only  reason 
that  they  did  not  do  so  was  the  incompetence  of  the 
commanding  general,  who  was  beaten  personally, 
while  his  army  was  confident  and  enthusiastic. 

The  other  general  officer  over  whom  animadversions 
have  been  made  in  this  book,  is  Gen.  Cuvier  Grover, 
these  strictures  being  based  on  his  conduct  of  the 
flanking  column  during  the  early  part  of  the  first  Red 
River  campaign.  Now,  the  difference  between  Banks 
and  Grover  in  a  military  way  was  very  marked.  Banks 
was  neither  soldier  or  general.  Grover  was  both.  He 
was  a  trained  and  educated  officer  and  a  valiant  and 
enduring  man,  and  understood  thoroughly  well  the 
art  of  organizing,  subsisting  and  handling  troops. 
His  error  in  distance  and  point  of  disembarkation 
during  the  operations  which  resulted  in  the  actions  of 
Indian  and  Irish  Bends  was  patent  at  the  time  to  every 


122  History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment. 

man  engaged,  and  is  still  more  evident  now  to  the 
student  of  the  campaign  ;  but  it  is  just  to  Gen.  Grover 
to  say  that  the  positions  were  not  at  that  date  so  well 
known  as  now,  and  that  the  orders  and  directions 
emanating  from  a  staff  controlled  by  Gen.  Banks  were 
probably  calculated  to  mislead  a  Hannibal. 

Gen.  Dwight,  who  commanded  the  brigade  in  which 
was  the  Sixth,  deserves  a  brief  mention.  William 
Dwight  came  of  a  good  Boston  family  and  had  gone 
through  a  portion  of  the  West  Point  course.  He  was 
brave  and  aggressive  ;  but,  like  a  good  many  other 
officers  during  the  civil  war,  labored  under  a  fancied 
likeness  to  the  first  Napoleon,  and  was  very  much  in 
clined  to  arbitrary  and  severe  punishments  entirely 
outside  of  the  regulations  of  the  army.  His  peremp 
tory  and  illegal  executions  of  a  couple  of  men  during 
the  first  Red  River  campaign  were  in  the  line  of  his 
mentality,  arid  he  should  have  thanked  his  stars  that 
the  Nineteenth  army  corps,  at  the  time,  was  not  com 
manded  by  a  soldier  ;  for,  if  it  had  been  so,  General 
Dwight  would  very  properly  have  been  court-mar 
tialed  and  broken  for  these  outrages  on  discipline. 

I  have  several  times  censured  the  stupid  and  ex 
travagant  way  in  which  the  high  authorities,  during 
the  civil  war,  raised  the  volunteer  troops.  At  the  risk 
of  being  accused  of  repetition  I  propose  to  say  a 
few  words  more  on  this  subject. 

When  the  civil  war  began,  and  the  enthusiasm  and 
patriotism  of  the  North  was  at  flood  tide,  and  every 
man  felt  the  firing  on  the  flag  at  Sumter  as  a  personal 
insult,  recruits  of  the  very  best  quality  were 


History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment.  123 

obtainable  to  any  extent.  In  fact,  in  those 
days  men  lied  about  their  age,  paid  money 
and  were  ready  to  do  almost  anything  to  win 
the  privilege  of  even  carrying  a  musket.  A  wise 
administration  of  the  War  Department  would  have 
taken  advantage  of  this  outburst  of  patriotism 
and  have  so  regulated  affairs  that  to  enthusiasm  would 
have  succeeded  discipline  and  esprit  de  corps,  so  that 
in  the  succeeding  years  the  fighting  ages  of  the 
country  could  have  been  drawn  upon  in  a  regulated 
and  orderly  fashion. 

Any  regular  officer  of  the  then  existent  staff  could 
have  arranged  this  matter,  and  have  seen  to  it  that  the 
regiments  of  the  1861  call  were  raised  from  districts 
according  to  population  and  enlisted  for  the  war,  and 
that  such  districts  were  held  responsible  for  a 
sufficient  number  of  recruits  to  keep  the  ranks 
full,  and  that,  except  in  rare  instances,  promotions 
were  from  the  ranks.  If  some  plan  as  this  had 
been  adopted  (and  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin 
where  there  seems  to  have  been  an  unusual  quantity 
of  sense  about  the  State  House,  this  principle  was 
rigorously  adhered  to  with  most  excellent  results),  it 
is  more  than  probable  that  the  cost  in  time,  blood  and 
money  of  the  civil  war  would  have  been  reduced  by 
a  quarter.  After  the  first  call  there  should  not  have 
been  an  additional  regiment  raised.  Any  increase 
of  organization  found  necessary  in  the  army  should 
have  been  met  by  raising  second  or  third  battal 
ions.  A  recruiting  party,  affording  an  opportunity 
for  change  of  scene  and  life,  should  have  been 
kept  in  each  regimental  district,  and  instead 
of  paying  bounties  to  the  later  enlistments, 


124  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

which  course  had  the  effect  of  disgusting  the 
old  soldiers  who  had  borne  the  "  heat  and  burden 
of  the  day,"  the  pay  of  officer  and  man  should 
have  been  raised  in  proportion  to  the  rise  in  prices 
and  wages  consequent  on  the  depreciation  of  the 
paper  dollar.  In  1861,  the  United  States  paid  eleven 
dollars  a  month  to  an  enlisted  man,  and  this  sum  had 
then  a  purchasing  power  equivalent  to  some  thirty 
dollars  in  1864,  and  the  faithful  men  who  had  staid  by 
the  colors  should  have  had  their  pay  adjusted  to  the 
times.  By  this  course  all  the  foul  bounty  business, 
with  its  demoralizing  results,  would  have  been  avoided, 
and  the  older  men  being  justly  treated  and  getting  to 
feel  their  regiment  as  a  home  to  be  proud  of,  would 
not  only  have  disciplined  each  recruit,  but  would  have 
been  efficient  recruiting  agencies  themselves.  But, 
alas  !  the  army  of  lions  was  under  the  control  of 
politicians,  who  were  either  ignorant  sheep  or  design 
ing  foxes,  and  so  force,  mone^  and  life  were  wasted ; 
and  the  army  practically  had  to  beat  two  enemies, 
the  one  in  front,  and  the  more  dangerous  because 
more  insidious  one  in  the  rear.  Perhaps  if  the 
country  had  to  go  into  the  business  of  improvising 
armies  again,  people  in  place  might  profit  by  the  lessons 
of  the  civil  war,  but  it  is  gravely  doubtful  whether 
any  such  good  thing  would  happen. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  125 


THE  officers  now  known  to  be  living  are  Captains 
Heuberer,  Bailey,  McNutt,  Denslow  and  Kaufman, 
Chaplain  Nash,  Quartermaster  Robarts,  Lieutenants 
Entwisle,  Wildman,  Duffy,  Hanham,  Roddy,  Russell, 
Wallace  and  Gill.  Of  these  Captain  Heuberer  was 
twice  mentioned  in  general  orders. 

Captain  Bailey  was  known  as  a  good  disciplinarian 
and  a  brave  man,  and  while  on  duty  with  the  regulars 
in  the  batteries  was  honorably  mentioned  in  the  re 
port  of  the  commanding  officer  of  the  Department, 
and  afterwards  in  the  field  retained  the  affection  of 
the  men  and  his  fellow  officers.  In  this,  Captain 
Kaufman  (who  then  was  his  Lieutenant)  shared  all  the 
honors,  and  was  known  as  a  very  cool,  brave  man  in 
whatever  duty  he  was  called  on  to  perform. 

Captain  Denslow  was  so  valuable  an  officer  in  bu 
reau  work  that  he  was  almost  constantly  on  detached 
duty  either  as  .judge  advocate,  inspector,  and  on  the 
staff  of  the  commanding  general.  He  afterwards  won 
promotion  in  the  field,  both  in  the  Gulf  Department 
and  with  Sheridan's  army,  retiring  with  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-colonel  and  colonel  by  brevet. 

Captain  McNutt  is  an  old  soldier  of  varied  experi 
ence  ;  as  an  officer  of  the  Sixth  he  showed  bravery 
and  his  men  were  always  ready  to  follow.  After 
muster-out  with  the  Sixth  he  again  went  to  the  front, 
was  twice  wounded,  and  was  mentioned  in  general 
orders,  and  complimented  on  the  field  by  the  com 
manding  general  for  brave  services. 

Chaplain  Nash  is  a  man  among  many.    The  innum- 


126  History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment. 


erable  deeds  of  charity  and  Christian  work  done  by 
him  have  endeared  his  name  to  all  who  knew  him. 
UnselfisJi  is  the  word  to  be  used  in  describing  him, 
and  nothing  more  need  be  said. 

Lieutenant  Robarts  was  ardent  in  his  profession,  he 
had  been  always  militarily  inclined,  having  served 
with  several  independent  companies,  and  in  Company 
E,  Seventh  Regiment  N.  Y.  S.  M.,  and  at  the  break 
ing  out  of  hostilities  received  an  autograph  letter  of 
thanks  from  the  Secretary  of  War  for  valuable  infor 
mation  furnished  in  relation  to  the  impending  crisis. 
He  was  first  attached  to  Company  G,  then  for  a  short 
time  during  the  absence  and  sickness  of  the  officers 
was  in  command  of  Company  E  ;  was  adjutant  to  the 
battalion  in  the  occupation  of  Pensacola,  and  was 
shortly  after  promoted  to  be  regimental  quartermas 
ter.  Subsequently  at  Carrolton,  La.,  was  acting 
brigade  quartermaster,  and  at  Baton  Rouge  was 
brigade  commissary. 

Of  Lieutenants  Entwisle,  Wildman,  Thos.  Duffy 
and  Gill,  nothing  can  be  said  in  this  book  to  enhance 
their  standing.  And  of  the  other  officers  now  dis 
tant  from  our  Society  and  whose  report  none  are 
present  to  write  up,  all  that  can  be  said  is  they  did 
their  duty  like  good  soldiers,  they  obeyed  all  orders 
and  at  the  end  were  discharged  with  honor  to  them 
selves  and  the  arm  of  the  service  in  which  they  were 
engaged. 

April,  1891. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  i  2  7 


RECOLLECTIONS. 


"When  arranging  material  for  this  History,  comrades  were  asked  to 
supply  facts  that  would  interest  readers.  The  following,  derived  from 
recollections  of  the  writers  and  from  conversations  with  members,  will 
show  that  comrades  have  kept  each  other  in  remembrance. 

Shortly  after  the  election  in  1860,  around  a  table  in 
Wally  Mason's  hotel,  Hudson  street,  New  York,  some 
visitors  (among-  them  James  Entwisle  and  James  W. 
Burgess,  afterwards  officers  in  the  Sixth  regiment), 
were  talking  over  the  effect  on  the  country  of  the 
election  of  President  Lincoln  and  the  secession 
ordinances  then  being  discussed  in  the  Southern 
States.  Our  colonel,  William  Wilson,  gave  his  opin 
ion  that  fighting  would  be  the  result.  Soon  after  this 
conversation  Mr.  Wilson  wrote  to  Governor  Morgan, 
offering  to  raise  a  regiment  or  brigade  of  volunteers 
to  be  ready  when  the  government  should  need  them. 
This  letter  was  acknowledged,  but  authority  to  or 
ganize  a  regiment  was  not  given  until  the  President's 
call  for  troops  was  issued.  That  day  Col.  Wilson  en 
listed  about  eight  hundred  men,  who  were  then  known 
as  Wilson  Zouaves,  and  afterwards  as  the  Sixth  Regi 
ment  Infantry  New  York  Volunteers. 

The  offer  to  recruit  a  regiment  was  the  first  made 
in  the  State  ;  and  the  first  six  companies  in  that  regi 
ment  were  mustered  into  service  several  days  before 
any  portion  of  the  five  New  York  regiments  preceding 
it  in  numerical  designation.  It  was  one  of  the  original 
thirty-eight  regiments  whose  members  enlisted  with 
out  thought  of  pay,  bounty  or  pensions — whose  ser 
vices  were  needed,  and  who  went  without  a  murmur. 


128  Historv  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


In  June,  1861,  under  sealed  orders,  the  regiment 
left  New  York  on  the  steamer  "  Vanderbilt."  When 
the  orders  were  opened  at  sea,  it  was  found  that  Fort 
Pickens,  the  most  important  fortress  on  the  Mexican 
Gulf,  was  its  destination.  [The  necessity  of  retain 
ing  this  fort  for  our  government  was  so  great  that  the 
President,  by  his  own  written  command,  had  pre 
viously  reinforced  it  by  ordering  six  companies  of 
artillery  and  two  companies  of  infantry,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  ordnance,  quartermasters  and  commissary 
supplies  to  that  post.] 

Arriving  at  Santa  Rosa  Island,  Florida,  on  the 
westerly  point  of  which  island  Fort  Pickens  is  situ 
ated,  the  men  and  their  supplies  and  ammunition 
were  landed,  and  a  camp  was  laid  out,  tents  pitched, 
and  drilling  commenced.  Under  the  instructions  of 
the  regular  officers  at  the  fort  who  were  detailed  to 
assist  Col.  Wilson,  the  men  soon  became  good 
soldiers.  Some  companies  were  drilled  at  heavy 
guns  in  the  fort  and  batteries,  and  two  companies  B 
and  E  were  sent  to  Fort  Jefferson,  Tortugas,  while 
company  A  was  sent  to  Key  West.  These  three 
companies  also  had  the  benefit  of  instruction  with 
regular  troops,  (as  no  volunteers  were  sent  to  this 
Department  until  the  winter  of  1861-62).  Among  the 
men  who  were  conspicuous  for  soldierly  qualities  and 
good  conduct  in  company  A  were  Sergt.  John  Smith, 
John  S.  McLaughlin,  William  Welch,  Washington 
Irving  Johnson  and  J.  B.  Reddie  ;  and  in  company  B 
may  be  mentioned  Owen  Craig,  Richard  L.  Taylor, 
Jas.  Comerford,  James  Gaffney,  John  McHale,  Thos. 
Walsh  and  musician  Robert  Adams.  In  company 
E  were  Thos.  Smith,  John  McCarrick,  Jas.  F.  Wood, 
John  O.  Silvey,  David  Bayard,  Henry  Oatgen  and 
George  Black.  All  these  men  won  the  approbation  of 
their  own  officers  and  that  of  the  regular  officers  and 
men  for  their  industry  and  pride  in  the  service  which 
they  had  adopted,  and  when  in  March,  1862,  they 
were  transferred  back  to  Santa  Rosa  Island,  their 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  129 


regimental  headquarters,  at  first  they  rather  put  on 
airs  of  superiority,  which  they  soon  however  saw  was 
misplaced,  as  their  fellow  companies  had  been  just  as 
hard  at  work  making  themselves  proficient. 

Meantime  companies  I  and  G  had  been  detached  to 
Batteries  Lincoln  and  Cameron,  where  they  did  duty 
with  the  regulars,  and  such  men  of  company  G  as 
Corporal  Philip  A.  Carroll,  Francis  Donnelly,  Wm. 
Gillen,  Geo.  Hack,  Geo.  Harvey,  Samuel  Keeler, 
Chas.  Schuh  ;  and  of  company  I,  as  Sergeants  Peter 
Tawse,  Jacob  H.  Theberath,  Samuel  Walker  and 
James  Smith,  and  Abraham  Butterworth,  John  J. 
Bulger,  Wm.  Marshall,  John  Oldham,  James  Murray, 
James  Robinson  and  Robert  Bridge,  for  military 
bearing,  good  conduct,  and  as  gunners  in  the  bat 
teries  were  hard  to  beat.  In  the  battle  of  Santa  Rosa 
fought  on  the  9th  October  i86i,and  the  two  bom 
bardments  of  Fort  Pickens,  these  two  companies  were 
honorably  mentioned,  and  the  officers  and  men  well 
deserved  the  praise  they  received. 

In  this  Qth  October  fight,  the  men  of  company  C 
were  early  on  duty  and  suffered  severely,  and  of  those 
now  alive  Jas.  Brady,  C.  J.  Campbell,  August  Freuncl, 
Robert  Gill  (afterwards  Sergt.  Major  and  then  Lieu 
tenant),  Sidney  A.  Nichols,  Christ.  Shuart,  John  W. 
Stickelman,  J.  J.  Wolfer,  and  Sergeant  John  Welling 
ton,  were  honorably  mentioned  and  did  excellent 
service. 

Of  D  company,  Sergeant  Thos.  Duffy  (afterwards 
promoted  to  Lieutenant),  William  McHenry,  Daniel 
Grogan,  Lewis  Powley,  A.  J.  Quinn,  W.  H.  Cook, 
and  Charles  O'Conor,  were  always  on  hand,  and 
could  be  relied  on  for  any  duty  required  of  them. 

Of  F  company,  Privates  Frank  J.  Drakert,  James 
P.  Murray,  James  Dunkerly,  John  Higgins  and 
Sergt.  Michael  Dougherty  were  never  behind  their 
companions  in  arms. 

Of  H  company,  Wm.  Knappmann,  John  Gannon, 
Edward  Cassidy,  Chas.  Joachim,  Jas.  Kielt,  J.  B. 


130  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


Tooker,  Chas.  West  and  B.  Simon.  John  J.  Shaugh- 
nessy  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Santa  Rosa  and 
was  the  first  man  taken  prisoner  (see  page  133). 

Of  K  company,  Lewis  Kannapel,  Henry  Nordt  and 
Jacob  Ulrich  will  always  be  remembered  by  their 
comrades  as  steadfast  friends.  Sergeant  Kannapel 
was  with  the  Paris  Mobiles  in  the  Revolution  of  i849» 
and  was  wounded.  He  arrived  in  New  York  a  year 
later,  and  subsequently  became  a  member  of  the  55th 
Regiment  N.  Y.  S.  M.,  but  at  the  commencement  of 
hostilities  preferring  active  service  joined  the  Sixth. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  men  (in  fact  nearly  all 
in  the  regiment)  whose  names  at  this  distance  of  time 
cannot  be  recalled,  who  are  as  deserving  of  mention  as 
the  beforenamed  non-commissioned  officers  and  pri 
vates,  and  who  must  not  be  offended  or  jealous  if  they 
do  not  see  their  names  in  print.  The  conduct  of  these 
men  at  Santa  Rosa,  Pensacola,  Baton  Rouge,  Indian 
Bend,  Irish  Bend,  Vermillion  Bayou,  and  all  the 
places  where  a  scout,  a  skirmish,  or  a  fight  was  on 
hand  was  good,  as  all  the  officers  of  the  accompany 
ing  regular  and  volunteer  forces  will  testify. 

The  writer  has  not  in  this  sketch  said  anything 
about  the  officers,  as  they,  generally,  when  deserving, 
get  their  names  forward,  and  they  must  not  be  offend 
ed  if  they  are  proscribed  in  this. 

There  were  many  incidents  that  may  be  interesting 
to  remind  comrades  of :  such  as  the  good  times  at 
Staten  Island  in  1861  ;  how  some  ladies  of  that 
neighborhood  were  desirous  of  going  with  the  regi 
ment  as  nurses,  and  what  a  crying  time  some  of  them 
had  when  the  band  played  "The  girl  I  left  behind 
me."  What  dry  throats  so  many  men  had  the  second 
day  on  board  the  ".Vanderbilt  "  and  when  they  drank 
the  ship's  water,  how  much  sicker  that  made  their 
sea-sickness.  The  consternation  among  the  super 
stitious  when  the  comrade  of  company  H  jumped 
overboard  and  was  drowned.  The  wetting  they  got 
when  landing  in  the  surf  at  Santa  Rosa  Island.  The 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  131 


fun  they  had  with  "Lanty's"  dog,  and  the  goat.  The 
many  ways  of  taking  it  easy  on  guard  duty.  The 
tricks  played  by  the  "boats  crews"  in  wetting  the 
landing  passengers,  and  the  inventive  genius  displayed 
by  these  crews  in  procuring  contraband  goods  for 
themselves  and  friends.  The  supply  of  hair  tonic 
which  a  sutler  brought  to  Pensacola,  with  directions 
that  if  mixed  with  hot  water  and  sugar  and  drank  it 
would  improve  every  hair  on  the  head.  The  white 
bean  checks,  and  the  free  use  of  blankets  to  cover 
the  candle's  light  after  taps  and  prolong  the  game. 
How  acceptable  were  the  crackers  and  whiskey  issued 
by  the  post  quartermaster,  Capt.  Shipley,  from  a  cart 
after  the  enemy  were  driven  from  the  Island  on  the 
Qth  October,  1861,  and  the  efforts  made  by  every 
one  to  make  things  comfortable  after  that  fight- 
money,  clothing  and  rations  all  had  been  destroyed. 

Who  does  not  remember  Charley  Wildman's  happy 
face  when  issuing  the  half-gill  ration  after  hard  ser 
vice,  and  how  pleased  all  hands  were  when  the  same 
Chas.  C.  Wildman  was  promoted  to  lieutenant.  Then 
came  Abe  Haskins  and  Thomas  Smith  in  the  quarter 
masters  department  who  were  always  scheming  to  do 
the  companies  a  good  turn  when  issuing  rations. 

The  theatre  at  Pensacola,  the  fun  at  that  place  and 
New  Orleans,  and  the  tragedy  at  College  Point  must 
be  in  most  men's  recollections,  and  when  we  got  to 
Baton  Rouge  how  the  men  used  to  dress  up  when  off 
duty  and  make  friends  with  the  ladies  by  presenting 
coffee  grounds,  beans,  etc. — no  rations  went  to  waste 
at  Baton  Rouge — the  resident  families  were  always 
willing  to  make  friends  and  receive  additions  for  their 
food  preserves. 

Then  the  soaking  rain  on  the  raid  to  the  back 
of  Port  Hudson,  and  what  a  plastering  of  mud  we  got 
on  our  clothing  while  on  the  march  through  the  cotton 
fields  and  back  to  Baton  Rouge  ;  and  the  gallant 
conduct  of  Lieut.  Entwisle  in  chasing  and  cutting 
down  a  rebel  cavalryman. 


132  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


Then  the  march  through  the  beautiful  La  Fourche 
district,  with  its  rose  bushes  and  orange  trees — the 
luxurious  flower  patches  and  large  blackberries — 
and  on  to  Brashear  City.  The  crowded  transports 
on  Grand  Lake  on  the  trip  to  Indian  Bend,  and  the 
fighting  and  marching  from  this  point  to  Alexandria. 

The  march  from  Alexandria  to  Simmesport  and  the 
trip  by  steamer  and  railroad  to  New  Orleans  ;  the 
pleasant  time  for  a  few  days  in  the  United  States  bar 
racks,  where  every  man  and  officer  set  to  work  clean 
ing  himself,  and  clothing  and  equipments,  previous  to 
embarking  on  the  steamer  for  home  and  muster-out  ; 
and  when  on  the  steamer  the  many  games  of  chance 
played,  which  sent  a  number  on  shore  at  New  York 
penniless. 

It  is  hoped  these  few  reminders  will  not  be  taken 
amiss,  but  that  many  of  them  may  be  the  theme 
when  comrades  meet  and  talk  over  old  times. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  133 


Narrative  of  JOHN  J.  SHAUGIINESSY,  of  Company  II,  Sixth 
Regiment,  New  York  Volunteers,  who  was  taken  prisoner  at  the 
Battle  of  Santa  Rosa  Island,  October  gth,  1861. 

About  an  hour  before  daylight  on  the  morning-  of 
the  Qth  of  October,  1861,  my  side-partner  named 
O'Brien,  doing  picket  duty  on  the  island  of  Santa 
Rosa,  and  I  had  been  talking  together  for  some  little 
time  when  he  resumed  his  duty,  and  I  had  started 
to  do  my  turn.  Shortly  after  leaving  me  O'Brien  saw 
in  the  distance,  and  coming  towards  him,  what 
appeared  to  be  a  Union  officer,  being  dressed  in  the 
uniform  of  one,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  doubt 
but  that  it  was  one.  When,  however  he  came  within 
hailing  distance,  O'Brien  cried  out  "  Who  comes 
there?  "  The  officer  answered,  "  An  officer  with  the 
countersign."  As  there  had  been  no  countersign 
issued  from  headquarters,  (the  line  on  which  O'Brien 
and  myself  were  stationed  being  only  formed  from 
evening  until  morning),  the  sentry  waited  until  the 
apparent  officer  came  close  up  to  him,  when  in  an 
instant  he  raised  his  musket  and  shot  the  bogus 
officer  dead.  Scarely  had  the  report  of  O'Brien's 
musket  died  away  in  the  early  morning  stillness  when 
he,  poor  fellow,  fell  pierced  by  at  least  twenty  bullets. 
Realizing  from  the  firing  and  commotion  in  the  di 
rection  in  which  O'Brien  was  "that  something  had 
happened,  I  raised  my  musket  and  fired  in  the  direc 
tion  where  the  volley  came  from.  I  did  not  have 
much  time  for  thinking  after  that,  for  a  bullet 
whistled  through  my  hair  and  just  scratched  the  skin 
turning  it  up  as  it  passed  me  by.  A  blow  from  a 
musket  was  my  next  experience  ;  unlike  the  harmless 
passing  bullet  however,  the  blow  knocked  me  sense 
less,  and  an  examination  afterward  showed  the  fact 
that  three  of  my  ribs  had  been  broken  by  the  blow. 
When  I  became  conscious  the  sun  was  shining 
brightly  and  believing  that  the  rebels  had  passed  on 
to  attack  our  camp,  I  began  to  consider  how  I  could 
escape  the  enemy  on  their  return,  believing  that  they 


134  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


must  necessarily  pass  that  way.  If  I  could  manage 
to  hide  until  they  had  passed  I  might  expect  to 
make  my  way  back  to  camp  in  a  short  time.  Seeing 
a  thick  clump  of  bushes  in  the  distance,  about  a  half 
a  mile  from  where  I  was,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  reach 
it  somehow  and  secrete  myself  thus  among  the  thick 
underbrush.  I  started  for  this  haven  and  had  gone  but 
a  short  distance  when  all  of  a  sudden,  as  if  by  magic 
I  beheld  the  reserve  of  the  enemy  a  short  distance 
in  front  of  me.  I  tried  to  sneak  back,  hoping  that  I 
had  not  been  seen  ;  but  it  was  too  late,  as  a  musket 
ball  followed  by  a  summons  to  halt  had  the  desired 
effect.  I  was  told  to  stand  still,  which  of  course  I  did, 
until  four  men  came  to  where  I  stood  and  I  was  captured 
and  made  a  prisoner,  thus  commencing  a  term  of  im 
prisonment  which  lasted  almost  twelve  months,  part 
of  which  time  death  would  have  been  hailed  with  de 
light  and  welcomed  as  the  way  by  which  our  miseries 
could  be  allayed  or  ended. 

The  attacking  party  having  failed  in  their  attempt  to 
surprise  and  capture  our  comrades,  we  sailed  for  Pen- 
sacola  the  same  day.  There  were  sixteen  volunteers 
and  eight  regulars  captured,  and  upon  landing  at 
Pensacola  I  was  taken  before  the  general  of  the 
division.  Here  the  ladies  of  the  household  gave  me 
quite  a  lecture  about  coming  down  there  to  take 
their  property  and  houses,  etc.  While  listening  to  the 
remarks  of  the  ladies,  one  of  them  observing  that  I 
leaned  very  much  on  one  side  and  suffered  the  most 
intense  pain  which  must  have  been  detected  in  my 
countenance,  asked  me  if  I  was  hurt.  I  told  her  I  did 
not  know,  but  supposed  there  was  something  the  mat 
ter.  I  was  then  kindly  turned  over  to  the  care  of  two 
negroes  and  an  examination  revealed  the  fact  that 
three  of  my  ribs  had  been  broken.  I  was  afterwards 
taken  to  the  Town  Hall  at  Pensacola,  where  I  first 
made  the  discovery  that  I  was  not  the  only  one 
captured,  but  that  I  had  fifteen  comrades  with  me  to 
keep  me  company.  From  this  place  we  were  all 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  135 


bundled  on  board  of  a  steamboat  one  day,  taken  to 
the  Pensacola  Navy  Yard  and  placed  in  the  marine 
barracks.  After  becoming  well  acquainted  with  every 
thing  and  everybody  in  and  about  the  barracks  we 
were  transferred  to  Montgomery,  Alabama,  where 
we  were  assigned  to  the  care  of  a  member  of  the 
celebrated  Calhoun  family  of  South  Carolina,  who 
kindly  relieved  us  of  all  our  money  and  doled  it  out  to 
us  whenever  he  considered  that  we  needed,  or  as  we 
asked  for  it.  Here  we  were  treated  very  well,  and 
began  to  think  that  being  a  prisoner-of-war  was  not 
such  a  very  hard  fate  as  it  seemed,  We  were  des 
tined  however,  to  change  our  opinion  in  this  respect. 

From  here  we  were  removed  to  Tuscaloosa,  Alabama, 
when  our  first  trial  experience  as  prisoners-of-war  be 
gan  in  earnest.  Here  the  notorious  Wirz,  who  was 
afterwards  hanged  in  Washington  for  his  cruelties  to 
Union  soldiers,  had  charge  of  the  unfortunate  captives. 
It  was  here  that  I  saw  two  of  my  comrades  hand 
cuffed  together,  and  while  being  marched  up  and 
down  the  yard,  saw  them  brutally  cowhided.  An 
other  day  a  young  dude  of  a  Southerner  while 
doing  picket  duty  deliberately  rested  his  musket 
on  a  fence  that  surrounded  the  prison  and  tak 
ing  aim  shot  the  eye  out  of  one  of  the  Union 
prisoners  while  he  was  looking  out  of  a  window  of  the 
prison,  and  there  was  never  anything  done  about  it, 
the  same  picket  doing  duty  as  usual  afterwards. 

While  here  we  were  compelled  to  take  an  oath  not 
to  take  up  arms  against  the  Confederacy  until  we 
were  regularly  exchanged.  Of  course  we  were  elated 
at  the  prospect  of  being  exchanged  soon.  This  tak 
ing  the  oath,  however,  was  a  very  shrewd  trick  on  the 
part  of  the  rebels,  as  by  doing  it  in  this  instance  they 
were  assured  that  we  would  not  give  any  trouble  in 
being  transferred  from  one  place  to  another.  Instead 
of  being  exchanged,  as  we  supposed  we  were  to  be, 
we  were  landed  in  Salisbury,  North  Carolina,  not 
however,  until  after  we  had  been  kept  tramping 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


around  the  country  for  about  fifteen  days.  Here 
we  were  destined  to  remain  for  the  balance  of  our 
imprisonment,  or  until  released  in  August  or  Septem 
ber,  having  been  about  eleven  months  in  prison.  The 
commandant  at  Salisbury  was  a  son  of  the  Governor 
of  Maryland— I  think  his  name  was  Bradley.  Our 
treatment  here  was  all  that  could  be  expected,  with 
the  exception  of  the  "grub"  furnished,  which  was 
scant  and  not  very  palatable  even  at  that — Indian 
meal  and  cattle  beans  being  the  principal  food  sup 
plies  for  the  prisoners.  While  here,  scurvy  broke 
out  among  the  prisoners,  and  for  want  of  med 
icines  and  fresh  vegetables  to  use  as  remedies, 
some  of  the  sick  were  put  in  trenches  and  given 
mud  baths.  Before  leaving  Salisbury  we  were  again 
compelled  to  take  the  oath  not  to  take  up 
arms  against  the  Confederacy  until  regularly  ex 
changed.  We  were  taken  from  Salisbury  to  Tarboro, 
thence  down  the  Tar  River  on  cotton  scows,  the 
journey  occupying  two  or  three  days,  and  landed  at  a 
small  place  called  Washington,  under  a  flag  of  truce. 
We  were  there  placed  on  board  a  small  steamer  named 
the  "  Schoolboy "  and  taken  to  Newbern,  North 
Carolina,  where  we  were  removed  to  the  steamer 
"  Admiral,"  and  after  a  pleasant  voyage,  landed  at 
Governor's  Island,  New  York  Harbor. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  1 3  7 


MEMORANDA. 

The  following  memoranda  is  inserted  here  to  con 
firm  statements  in  the  pages  of  this  history,  and  will 
be  found  interesting  : — 

UNION  VOLUNTEERS  ! 

All  who  have  signed  the  roll  of  the  Wilson  Volun 
teers,  will  meet  at  618  Broadway,  N.  Y.,  Friday  even 
ing,  April  iQth,  1861,  at  8  o'clock.  All  the  Company 
rolls  must  be  handed  in,  with  the  names  of  the  officers. 

WILLIAM  WILSON,  Colonel. 


General  Headquarters,  State  of  New  York, 

Adjutant  General's  Office, 
Special  Orders  No.  61.  Albany,  April  20,  1861. 

Colonel  William  Wilson,  of  New  York  City,  is  here 
by  appointed  temporarily  colonel  of  the  regiment  he 
has  raised.  His  appointment  to  date  on  the  iQth  of 
April,  1861.  He  will  report  himself  and  command 
forthwith  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  at 
Washington  City.  If  practicable,  before  leaving  New 
York  the  regiment  will  be  mustered  into  the  service 
of  the  State.  Major  Robert  Hubbell  will  preside  at 
the  election  of  company  officers,  and  Brig-Gen.  Yates 
will  preside  at  the  election  of  field  officers.  If  not 
practicable  the  organization  will  be  completed  on  the 
passage,  and  reported  to  this  office.  Colonel  Wilson 
will  make  requisition  on  the  commanding  general  for 
the  necessary  arms  and  ammunition.  General  Sand- 
ford  will  provide  the  requisite  steam  transportation, 
and  supplies  for  this  regiment  for  one  month. 

By  order  of  the  Commander-in-Chief 

J.   MEREDITH  REED, 

To  Colonel  WM.  WILSON,  Adjutant  General. 

618  Broadway,  New  York  City. 


138  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


General  Headquarters,  State  of  New  York, 

Adjutant  General's  Office, 

Special  Orders  No.  91.  Albany,  April  25th,   1861. 

"  Extract." 

Pursuant  to  General  Orders  No.  13,  of  April  i8th, 
1861,  and  upon  the  returns  of  Lieut.  Col.  Henry  A. 
Weeks,  the  officer  detailed  for  the  mustering  of  the 
companies  of  volunteers  in  the  city  of  New  York  in 
the  Sixth  Regiment  Volunteer  Militia  numbered  from 
"A"  to  "F"  inclusive,  certifying  that  the  officers 
named  in  the  several  election  returns  have  been 
elected  and  upon  the  return  of  Brig.  Gen.  Charles 
Yates,  commanding  officer  at  the  depot  at  New  York, 
the  officer  detailed  to  hold  an  election  for  field  offi 
cers  of  the  same  regiment,  which  return  is  dated 
April  24th,  1861,  such  regiment  is  hereby  notified 
that  it  has  been  accepted  into  the  service  of  the  State 
with  the  following  named  officers,  Col.  Wm.  Wilson 
and  others. 

Col.  Wilson  will  at  once  report  himself  and  com 
mand  to  Brig. -Gen.  Yates,  commanding  the  depot  of 
volunteers  at  New  York. 

By  order  of  the  Commander-in-Chief, 

J.  MEREDITH  REED. 


OFFICIAL  REPORT  OF  THE  FIRST  BOMBARDMENT. 


Headquarters  Department  of  Florida, 
Extract."  Fort  Pickens,   Nov.  25th,   1861. 


My  officers,  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates 
were  everything  I  could  desire.  They  one  and  all 
performed  their  duty  with  the  greatest  cheerfulness 
and  in  the  most  able  and  efficient  manner. 
Captains  Dobie's  and  Bailey's  companies  were  with 
the  batteries  at  Lincoln  and  Cameron,  and  did  their 
duty  faithfully  and  efficiently.  The  companies  of 
Captains  Heuberer  and  Duffy  were  on  duty  at  the 
Fort  and  rendered  cheerfully  important  assistance. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  139 


The  regular  companies  engaged  at  the  batteries  all  of 
whom  performed  their  duty  so  efficiently  as  to  pre 
clude  my  making  a  distinction,  are  companies  A,  F, 
L,  ist  Artillery;  C,  H,  K,  2d  Artillery;  C,  E,  3d 
Infantry,  and  companies  G  and  I,  6th  Regiment  Vol 
unteers. 

•**-K          •*#**# 

HARVEY  BROWN,  Col.   Commanding;. 
To  Brig. -Gen.  LORENZO  THOMAS, 

Adjt.  Gen'l  U.  S.  A.,  Washington. 


New  York,  January  2d,  1862. 
Col.  WM.  WILSON,  6th  Regt.  N.  Y.  Yols. 

DEAR  SIR  :  The  undersigned  Committee  on  Na 
tional  Affairs  of  the  Common  Council  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  have  the  honor  of  presenting  the  Sixth 
Regt.  N.  Y.  Vols.,  with  the  accompanying  "Regi 
mental  Color,"  in  compliance  with  resolution  of  said 
Common  Council. 

Adopted  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  July  6th,  1861.  Adopted  by  the 
Board  of  Councilmen,  October  28th,  1861.  Approved  by  the  Mayor, 
November  yth.  1861. 

GEO.  A.  BARNEY,  Secy.  ANDRE  FROMENT,  Chairman. 

Headquarters,  1st  Division, 
Dept.  of  the  Gulf,  Carrolton,  La.,  Nov.  3oth,  1862. 

COLONEL  :  I  am  directed  by  General  Sherman  to 
say,  that  he  expects  as  senior  officer  of  the  "  2d 
Brigade"  you  will  assume  command  of  the  brigade. 

Respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

WICKHAM   HOFFMAN,  Asst  Adjt.  Gen. 


Headquarters,  ist  Division, 
Dept.  of  the  Gulf,  Carrolton,  La.,  Dec.  gth,  1862. 

COLONEL  :  I  am  directed  by  General  Sherman,  the 
commanding  general,  to  notify  you  as  senior  officer 
present,  that  he  will  be  absent  from  camp  for  a  few 
days. 

I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

WICKIIAM  HOFFMAN,  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 


140  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


Special  Orders  No.  28  Headquarters,  Dept.  of  the  Gulf, 

"  Extract."  Cotogele,  near  Vermillionville,  La. 

April  19,  1863. 

SOLDIERS  !  You  have  learned  to  endure  fatigue, 
suffered  privation,  conquered  difficulties  and  achieved 
victories,  you  have  defeated  the  enemy,  dispersing 
his  army  and  destroying  his  navy.  In  twenty  days  you 
have  marched  three  hundred  miles,  fought  four 
engagements,  expelled  him  from  his  fortifications, 
driven  him  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  from  Berwick 
Bay  to  Opelousas.  Captured  ten  guns  and  2,000 
prisoners,  including  some  of  his  best  officers  of  all 
arms,  and  made  the  reorganization  of  his  forces  for 
the  present  impossible  by  depriving  him  of  all  the 
material  resources  of  war.  Destroying  his  foundries 
and  demolishing  his  salt  works,  that  for  two  years 
has  sustained  the  life  of  the  Confederacy.  New  glories 
are  before  us,  let  us  honor  the  flag  we  bear,  and 
remember,  that  to  defy  danger  is  to  drive  it  into  the 
ranks  of  the  enemy. 

By  command  of  Maj.  Gen.  BANKS. 
RICH.  B.  IRWIN,  Lieut.  Col.,  A.  A.  Gen. 


Special  Orders  Headquarters  1st  Brigade  Grover's  Division. 

No,  37.  Moundville,  La.,  April  29,  1863. 

The  Brig. -General  commanding  this  advanced  brig 
ade,  congratulates  the  command  on  the  manner  in 
which  the  march  was  performed — the  service  was 
honored.  The  march  was  long  and  rendered  difficult 
by  the  mud,  yet  the  command  crossed  the  bridge  at 
the  bayou  after  the  march  in  perfect  order  and  well 
closed  up.  Soldiers  who  can  march  thus,  deserve  the 
respect  and  admiration  of  all  officers. 

By  command  of  WM.   DWIGHT. 

Brig.-Gen.  commanding  ist  Brig. 
W.  H.  HUNT,  ist  Lieut.  13151  N.  Y.  V.,  A.  A.  \.  Gen. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  141 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Gulf,  igth  Army  Corps, 
Special  Orders  No.  in.  Alexandria,  La.,  May  gth,  1863. 

"Extract." 

7.  Brig. -Gen.  Dvvight  will  detail  the  6th  N.  Y.  V. 
to  report  to  Col.  C.  C.  Dwight,  provost  marshal  gen 
eral,  immediately,  to  relieve  the  seven  companies  of 
Gen.  Weitzel's  brigade  now  on  duty  as  provost  guard 
in  this  town.  The  latter  on  being  relieved  will  rejoin 
their  respective  regiments. 

Signed,  By  command  of  Maj.  Gen.  BANKS. 

RICHARD  B.   IRWIN,  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 

Headquarters  1st  Brigade,  Grover's  Div., 

Official,  Signed,  Camp  near  Alexandria,  La.,  May  gth,  1863. 

WM.   B.   HUNT,  ist  Lieut,  and  A.  A.  A.  Gen. 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Gulf,    igth  Army  Corps, 
Special  Orders  No.  116.  Alexandria,  La.,  May  I4th,  1863. 

"  Extract." 

3.  The  6th  N.  Y.  will  to-day  be  relieved  from  duty 
as  provost  guard  of  Alexandria,  and  will  report  to  the 
commanding  officer  of  the  3d  Division  to  accompany 
the  march  of  that  Division  to  Simmesport,  whence 
the  regiment  will  be  ordered  to  New  Orleans. 

Signed,  By  command  of  Maj.   Gen.   BANKS. 

RICHARD  B.  IRWIN,  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 

Headquarters  1st  Brigade.  Grover's  Div., 
Official,  Alexandria,  La.,  May  I4th,  1863. 

WM.  B.   HUNT,  ist  Lieut,  and  A.  A.  A.  Gen. 


Headquarters  1st  Brigade,  Grover's  Division, 

Special  Orders  45.  Alexandria,  La.,  May  15,  1863. 

To  the  Officers,    Non-Commissioned   Officers  and  Privates  of  the  Sixth 
Regiment  N.  Y.  Volunteers  : 

The  Commanding  General  of  the  Brigade  cannot 
allow  the  Sixth  Regiment  N.  Y.  Volunteers  to  leave 
the  Department  of  the  Gulf  and  the  service  of  the 
U.  S.  without  conveying  to  them  his  appreciation  of 
their  conduct  as  men  and  their  valor  as  soldiers  dur 
ing  the  present  movements  since  the  landing  of  this 


142  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


command  at  Irish  Bend,  La.,  on  the  I5th  of  April, 
1863,  until  their  arrival  at  Alexandria  on  the  8th  of 
May,  1863,  an  interval  in  which  the  regiment  endured 
the  hardships  of  service,  marching  under  an  almost 
tropical  sun,  and  during  which  they  encountered  the 
enemy  three  (3)  times,  sustaining  well  their  reputa 
tion  for  endurance  and  bravery.  With  regret  that  the 
Government  should  have  lost  the  services  of  this 
regiment,  though  the  time  has  arrived  for  its  mem 
bers  to  enjoy  their  merited  repose. 

By  order  of  WM.   DWIGHT,  Brig.  Gen'l 

Comdg,  1st.  Brig.  Grover's  Div.  igth  Army  Corps. 
W.  B.   HUNT,  A.  A.  Gen'l. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Gulf,   igth  Army  Corps, 

Simmes'  Plantation,  opp.  Simmesport,  La., 

Special  Orders  No.  120.  May  igth,  1863. 

"  Extract." 

The  6th  N.  Y.  Volunteers  will  proceed  at  5  o'clock 
to-morrow  morning  with  two  days  rations,  on  the 
steamer  "Laurel  Hill"  to  Brashear  City,  thence  by 
railway  to  New  Orleans,  and  thence  as  soon  as  possi 
ble  by  transport  steamer  to  New  York,  where  it  will 
be  mustered  out  of  the  service  of  the  U.  S.,  by  reason 
of  the  expiration  of  the  term  for  which  it  was  enlisted. 
The  Quartermasters  Department  will  furnish  the 
necessary  transportation. 

By  command  of  Maj.   Gen.   BANKS. 
RICHARD  B.  IKWIN,  Asst.  Adj.  Gen. 


Off  "  Fortress  Monroe," 

On  board  "  Steamer  Cahawba,"  June  8th,  1863. 

A  meeting  of  the  Confederate  officers  (50  in  number,  prisoners-of- 
war),  having  been  called  for  the  purpose  of  tendering  a  vote  of  thanks 
to  Col.  Wilson,  officers  and  men.  of  the  6th  Regt.  N.  Y.  Vols. 

The  meeting  was  organized  by  Captain  E.  W.  Euller  by  calling 
Judge  E.  McGowan  to  the  chair,  and  appointing  Capt.  Eugene  Holmes 
Secretary.  On  motion  of  Capt.  Fuller  a  committee  was  appointed  to 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  143 


draft  Resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  meeting.     Whereupon 
the  chair  appointed    the  following  officers  as  that  committee,  viz  : 
Capt.  E.  W.  FULLER,  Col.  A.  R.  WITT, 

Capt.  O.  J.  SEMMES,  Capt.  J.  M.  YOUNGBLOOD, 

Capt.  G.  L.  FASILIER,  Capt.  J.  J.  ATKINSON, 

Lieut.  A.   P.   MORSE, 

Capt.  Fuller,  from  the  committee,  reported  the  following  Resolutions, 
which  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  gratitude  and  thanks  to  Col.  Wm. 
Wilson,  his  officers  and  men  of  the  6th  N.  Y.  Vol.,  for  the  kind  and 
courteous  treatment  received  at  their  hands  during  our  passage  from 
New  Orleans  to  Fortress  Monroe. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  handed 
to  Col.  Wilson,  with  the  request  that  they  be  published  in  the  New  York 
City  papers. 

EDWARD  McGowAN,  Chairman. 
Capt.  EUGENE  HOLMES,  Secy. 


New  York,  July  15th,   1863. 

To  His  Excellency  HORATIO  SEYMOUR, 

Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

The  undersigned,  at  present  residents  of  Staten 
Island,  do  hereby  solicit  your  excellency,  in  view  of 
the  existence  of  a  riotous  mob  on  that  Island,  to 
place  Col.  Wm.  Wilson  in  command  of  such  organized 
bodies  as  may  be  raised  by  the  citizens,  or  detailed 
by  your  excellency,  to  protect  the  lives  and  property 
of  the  citizens  of  said  Island  and  to  suppress  such 
riotous  demonstrations. 

We  also  request  that  transportation  and  subsistence 
mav  be  afforded  by  the  State  for  the  men  under  Col. 
Wilson's  command. 

ALEX.  N.  GUNN,  M,D. 
A.   D.   RUSSEL. 

and  others. 

I  approve  of  the  within  request  and  authorize  the 
appointment  of  Col.  Wilson.  He  is  requested  to  see 
Col.  Tompkins  on  reaching  Richmond  County. 

July  isth,  1863.  HORATIO  SEYMOUR. 


144  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 

Appendix  \«».  1. 

New  York,  June  13,  1861. 

COLONEL  :  I  enclose  with  this  a  copy  of  a  letter 
addressed  to  me  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Townsend, 
chief  of  General  Scott's  staff.  In  pursuance  of  the 
instructions  contained  therein,  the  Governor  of  the 
State  has  designated  your  Regiment  for  the  service 
contemplated,  and  I  fully  endorse  the  selection  of  the 
Governor,  as  I  believe  that  no  Regiment  from  the 
State  is  better  fitted  for  going  on  this  expedition,  on 
account  of  its  discipline  and  good  spirit.  I  enclose 
you  sundry  letters,  which  I  hope  you  will  deliver 
safely  in  person.  I  do  not  know  what  are  the  precise 
instructions  of  the  steamer,  but  I  think  she  is  to  touch 
at  Key  West  and  Tortugas.  At  both  of  these  places 
inquiries  should  be  made  for  Colonel  Brown.  Full 
supplies  of  camp  and  garrison  equipage  and  of  cloth 
ing  are  sent  with  the  Regiment,  and  in  addition  80,000 
rounds  of  ammunition.  All  of  these  things  should 
be  particularly  looked  after  by  your  quartermaster 
after  you  arrive,  so  that  they  may  be  kept  by  the 
Regiment.  If  you  can  obtain  lumber  at  Pickens,  I 
advise  that  you  make  sheds  and  pitch  the  tents  under 
them.  Believing  that  your  Regiment  will  do  its 
officers  and  State  credit,  and  wishing  you  all  possible 
success  and  a  safe  journey, 

I  am,  very  respectfully  yours, 

W.   B.   FRANKLIN, 
Colonel  I2th  Infantry,  U.  S.  Army. 

Colonel  W.  WILSON,  6th  Regiment,  New  York  Vols. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  145 


Appendix  No.  2. 

Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  April  i,  1861. 
Lieut.  D.  D.   Porter,  U.  S.  N. 

SIR  :  You  will  proceed  to  New  York,  and  with 
the  least  possible  delay  assume  command  of  any 
naval  steamer  available,  proceed  to  Pensacola  Har 
bor,  and  at  any  cost  or  risk  prevent  any  expedition 
from  the  main  land  reaching  Fort  Pickens  or  Santa 
Rosa.  This  order,  its  object,  and  your  destination 
will  be  communicated  to  no  person  whatever,  until 
you  reach  the  harbor  of  Pensacola. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
Recommended  :     W.  H.  SEWARD. 

Also  the  following  despatch  sent  to  Capt.  A.  H. 
Foote,  commandant  at  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  : 

SIR  :  Fit  out  the  PowJiattan  without  delay.  Lieut. 
Porter  will  relieve  Capt.  Mercer  in  command  of  her. 
She  is  bound  on  secret  service,  and  you  will  under  no 
circumstance  communicate  to  any  one  the  fact  that 
she  is  fitting  out. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


T46 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


Appendix  No.  3. 

CONSOLIDATED  MORNING  REPORT,  Sixth  Regiment 
Infantry,  New  York  Volunteers,  Companies  C, 
I),  F,  H  and  K. 


DATE. 

SICK. 

ON  EXTBA 

DUTY. 

COM. 
OFFICERS 

FOB 

DUTY. 

ENLISTED 
MEN 
FOB  DUTY. 

1861,  Sept 
"   Oct. 

i  «    < 

*  «    < 
"   Nov. 

24tli  .  .  . 

63 

47 

40 

36 
41 

79 
54 
55 
57 
57 
57 
57 
54 
53 
56 
57 
57 
57 
62 
65 
65 
66 
67 
66 
66 
66 
67 
67 

48 
43 

14 
14 
14 
14 
15 
15 
15 
18 
18 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
16 
15 
15 
15 
13 
13 

11 
10 

232 
253 
254 
245 
239 
237 
234 
231 
226 
236 
235 
233 
242 
239 
242 
240 
242 
239 
234 
242 
237 

243 

190 

188 

10th 

llth  
12th  
13th  

14th  
15th  
16th  

17th  
18th  
19th  
20th  
21st  
22d  
23d 

24th 

25th  
26th  
27th  
28th  
29th  
30th  
31st  

12th  
30th  

Company  A  was  at  Key  West ;  Companies  B  and  E  were  at  Fort 
Jefferson,  Tortugas ;  and  Companies  G  and  I  were  at  Batteries 
Lincoln  and  Cameron,  outposts  of  Fort  Pickens. 

The  apparent  discrepancies  in  numbers  from  day  to 
day,  are  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  books  and  papers 
were  destroyed,  the  hospital  removed,  and  by  other  occur 
rences  which  make  disorder  in  active  service. 


*  Muster  Roll  of  October  31st,  1801,  corresponds  with  morning  report  of 
same  date. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  147 


MUSTER-OUT    ROLL. 


The  following  named  officers  and  men  were  mustered 
out  of  the  United  States  Service,  June  25th,  1863,  at 
New  York  City  : 

Colonel,  William  Wilson,  Brevet  Brigadier-General,  U.  S.  V. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,  Michael  Cassady. 

Major,  James  W.  Burgess, 

Surgeon,  Pliilo  C.  Pease. 

Assistant- Surgeon,  Edmund  Lyncli. 

Chaplain,  Michael  Nash. 

Adjutant,  James  J.  Heary. 

Quartermaster,  Thomas  J.  Robarts. 

Quartermaster-Sergeant,  C.  R.  Goerck. 

Commissary- Sergeant,  Abrarn  Haskins. 

Hospital  Steward,  George  T.  Hamilton. 

Fife  Major,  Charles  Kessler. 


Captain  Robert  H.  Hazeltine,  Captain  Charles  E.  Heuberer, 

Captain  Joseph  G.  McNutt,  Captain  Robert  Bailey, 

Captain  William  B.  Kaufman,  Captain  Henry  L.  Hoelzle. 
Captain  James  H.  Dobie, 


1st  Lieut.  Edgar  W.  Ruckel,  1st  Lieut.  Jacob  Silloway, 

1st  Lieut.  Virginius  Vangeison,      1st  Lieut.  George  L.  Russell, 
1st  Lieut.  Robert  Roddv,  1st  Lieut.  James  Entwisle. 


3d  Lieut.  William  H.  Taylor,  3d  Lieut.  John  T.  Barker, 

3d  Lieut.  Alexander  H.  Wallace,  3d  Lieut.  Glenn  Putman, 

2d  Lieut.  Wilson  Miller,  3d  Lieut.  Charles  C.  Wildman, 

2d  Lieut.  Thomas  Duffy,  3d  Lieut.  Robert  Gill. 


148 


History  of  a    Volunteer   Regiment. 


Lewis  Allinger, 
John  Applegate, 
Jolm  Borger, 
John  Briggs, 
George  Brizee, 
Stephen  Burns, 
J arnes  Burns, 
Jas.  A.  Cottingham, 
Thomas  Connor, 
Peter  Crainor, 
Timothy  Cronan, 
Daniel  Cronan, 
Charles  II.  Durning, 
John  Dean, 
Abraham  Delaney, 
John  Dolan, 
William  Downey, 


Robert  Adams, 
Julien  Allen, 
Beni.  F.  Bal linger, 
Edward  Beatty, 
John  S.  Bills, 
William  F.  Billings, 
Napoleon  Boundin, 
Peter  Burns, 
Chas.  Cruickshank, 
Peter  Carroll, 
Henry  Casey, 
Joseph  Clark, 
Michael  Clyn, 
Michael  Coyle, 
Owen  Craig, 
John  Drew, 
Nicholas  Diet/, 
Patrick  Downey, 
Michael  Furey, 
James  Gaffney, 


Alex.  Stratton, 
David  J.  Bernhard, 
Michael  Doyle, 
Alex.  A.  Geddes, 
Chas.  F.  Allgower, 
David  Blaney, 


Bernard  Duffy, 
John  Dougherty, 
Jolm  Fay, 
Edward  H.  Henry, 
Edward  Hovey, 
Joseph  Howard, 
Solomon  Jamison, 
W.  I.  Johnson, 
Edward  Kenny, 
George  Keeler, 
Charles  Kane, 
James  Logan, 
Patrick  Lanahau, 
Hugh  Lynch, 
Patrick  Mand, 
James  Martyn, 
William  Marks, 


COMPANY  B. 

John  Gannon, 
William  Giles, 
David  Gordon, 
Jolm  Hall, 
Thomas  Hamilton, 
Martin  Heffran, 
Samuel  Husted, 
James  Kilbourn, 
Robert  Kunzel, 
Joshua  McHale, 
Martin  McNiel, 
Joseph  Mosher, 
John  Mahoney, 
Richard  McDermott, 
John  McGrath, 
Michael  Moran, 
Jolm  Murray, 
Thomas  Mullen, 
John  W.  Newell, 


COMPANY  C. 

James  Blaney, 
Jas.  Brady, 
Thos.  Brady, 
Michael  Burns, 
Michael  Brennan, 
Alfred  H.  Burnap, 


Patrick  Mehan, 
Jeremiah  Mullins, 
Peter  McDermott, 
James  Morgan, 
John  S.  McLaughlin , 
Francis  Platt, 
Lawrence  Ryan, 
Thomas  Ritchie, 
John  Ross, 
Patrick  Roach, 
James  B.  Reddie, 
Michael  Ryan, 
Jolm  Smith, 
C.  H.  Steinbremier. 
William  Welch, 
Christian  Waller, 
Thomas  Worth. 


William  Nealis, 
William  Naylor, 
John  C.  Old  rich, 
Samuel  Purdy, 
Edward  Hice, 
George  H.  Ryan, 
Frank  Rodgers, 
Jacob  Simon, 
James  Skelly, 
Geo.  Steinbremier, 
Michael  Teihn, 
Richard  Taylor, 
James  Trainer, 
James  Vinness, 
Edward  Vangeison, 
Christopher  Wigle, 
John  Wilson, 
Thomas  Walsh, 
Cherry  Yeanbatiste. 


Chas.  J.  Campbell, 
Chas.  W.  Chandler, 
John  Donovan, 
James  Densmore, 
Augustus  Freund, 
Stephen  Glancey, 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


149 


COMPANY  C.  —  Continued. 

Thos.  Grunby, 

Thos.  Mack, 

James  Ryan, 

Joseph  llaiiiilton, 

Stephen  Mack, 

John  Ryan, 

John  Higgins, 

James  Marshall, 

Richard   Sau 

Alex.  Homer, 

Adam  McCombich, 

Wm.  Scott, 

Win.  Horton, 

Jas.  McKnight, 

Christian  Shuart, 

Peter  Hughes, 

Jas.  Mullen, 

Wm.  St.  Clair, 

Henry  Hungerford, 

Sidney  A  Nichols, 

J.  W.  Stickelman, 

Wm.  Jones, 

Michael  Purcell, 

John  Sullivan, 

Michael  Keeler, 

Jere.   Berryman, 

Hugh  Tighe, 

John  Kline, 

Bradford  Peck, 

John  Wellington, 

Chas.  P.  Lange, 

L.  Robertson, 

John  Young, 

Thos.  Mitchell, 

Alfred  Rabbett, 

Jacob  Wolfer. 

Joseph  McCarty, 

Joseph  Randall, 

COMPANY  D. 

Thos.  Armstrong, 

Thomas  Gallagher, 

Michael  Owens, 

Francis  Anderson, 

Wm.  Garvie, 

Henry  Olts, 

Noble  Armstrong, 

John  Harrington, 

Wm.  Patten, 

James  Armstrong, 

Fredrick  Heeme, 

Lewis  Powley, 

John  Ames, 

Wm.  Kelly, 

John  Pendergast, 

Chas.  Allen, 

Patrick  Kelly, 

A.  J.  Quinn, 

John  Blair, 

Henry  Keil, 

Alex.  C.  Raymond, 

Patrick  Blake, 

Geo.  Kettleman, 

Patrick  Riley, 

John  Brown, 

Samuel  Linn, 

John  Reynolds, 

John  Burns, 

Michael  Maloney, 

Francis  Reynolds, 

Alonzo  Blackman, 

L.  McCarthy, 

Robert  Robinson, 

John  Bracken, 

Chas.  McCully, 

Wm.  Ryan, 

Chas.  Cook, 

J.  McDermott,  1st, 

Paul  Rooney, 

Wm.  H.  Cook, 

J.  McDermott,  2d. 

James  Slivey, 

Thos.  Connerton, 

Jas.  McGinness, 

Jacob  Spartel, 

Henry  Davis, 

Wm.  McHenry, 

Peter  Sullivan, 

Bernard  Dooley, 

Wm.  McPhalen, 

Daniel  Turner, 

Geo.  Ennes, 

Joseph  W.  Moore, 

Wm.  Tyrrell, 

Wm.  Fox, 

Michael  Moran, 

Jas.  A.  Tomlin, 

Geo.  W.  Graham, 

Jas.  McMahon, 

Michael  Timmens, 

John  Gravener, 

Chas.  O'Conor 

John  Talent, 

Morris  Griffen, 

Michael  O'Neill, 

Wm.  Venus. 

Daniel  Grogan, 

John  O'Brien, 

COMPANY  B. 

David  Bayard, 

Patrick  Clifford, 

Jas.  Foley, 

Thos.  Beatty, 

Joseph  Curran, 

John  H.  Foley, 

Jacob  Birtch, 

Win.  Day, 

James  Garvey, 

Geo.  Black, 

Henry  Dennis, 

Patrick  Giblin, 

James  Buckley, 

John  Durning, 

Edward  Hadicka, 

Patrick  (Jallahan, 

James  W.  Elliott, 

Jas.  Hamilton, 

Wm.  Caper, 

Henry  Ekardt, 

Geo.  Harp, 

'5° 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


COMPANY  E.  —  Continued. 

Fred.  Hoffman, 

Jas.  Milne, 

Conrad  Sherman, 

Michael  Holland, 

Bernard  Montague, 

John  O.  Silvey, 

Henry  Huff, 

John  Mulhill, 

Robert  C.  Silvey, 

Henry  Hutchins, 

Patrick  Norton, 

Wm.  Sinclair, 

Jas.  Kenny, 

John  O'Brien, 

Thomas  Smith, 

Thos.  Kevlin, 

Michael  O'Connor, 

James  Sweeny, 

Fred.  B.  Lynt, 

Charles  Peez, 

Wm.  Tiffany, 

Win.  Lyons, 

John  Power, 

Chas.  H.  Trigler, 

Eugene  Mallory, 

Chas.  Ray, 

John  L.  Tuttle, 

Robt.  McBrien, 

John  Roddy, 

Geo.  Videto, 

John  MeCarrick, 

Patrick  Roach, 

Lewis  Vilman, 

J.  T.  Maguinniss, 

Leon  Roth, 

Robt.  Wainwright, 

John  H.  McCarthy, 

Patrick  Ross, 

John  Watson, 

Richard  McDonnell, 

F.  W.  Schofield, 

James  F.  Wood, 

Peter  McNulty, 

Wm.  Seiring, 

John  W.  Wood. 

COMPANY  F. 

Thos.  Battles, 

Anthony  Gland, 

John  Moore, 

Jas.  Brown, 

Alex.  Hamilton, 

Patrick  Moriarty, 

Michael  Breithof, 

Geo.  Hamilton, 

Daniel  Morrison, 

Joshua  Briggs, 

John  Higgins, 

James  P.  Murray, 

John  Burns, 

Robt.  Hoendoff, 

John  O'Connell, 

Bernard  Campbell, 

Cyrus  Holt, 

Wm.  J.  Phelan, 

Jas   Cannon, 

Wm.  Kershaw, 

John  B.  Ragan, 

Henry  Chapman, 

William  Lae, 

Chas.  J.  Reynolds, 

Geo.  Davis, 

Wm.  Leddy, 

Edwd.  Scanlin, 

Joseph  Donehue, 
M.  J.  Dougherty, 

Joseph  Levi, 
Robt.  McCall, 

Edward  Schaefer, 
G.  S.  Sinlion, 

Frank  J.  Drakert, 

John  McCann, 

George  I.  Steele, 

Jas.  Dunkerly, 

Michael  McDermott, 

Wm.  Stock, 

Thos.  Elliott, 

Michael  McGuire, 

Henry  Sullivan, 

Patrick  Flanagan, 

Robt.  McKellar, 

Geo.  Thurston, 

Cornelius  Freeland, 

Owen  McKenny, 

Louis  Tutley, 

Robert  Gibbs, 

John  Menzies, 

Daniel  Turner. 

James  Glancy, 

Thos.  Minogue, 

COMPANY  G. 

Cornelius  Blauvelt, 

Paul  Faber, 

George  Harvey, 

Emil  Beuler, 

Peter  Finan, 

F.  Hausernan, 

Philip  Carroll, 

Maurice  Flynn, 

Gustavus  Hueber, 

Francis  Connor, 

Chas.  Frank, 

Samuel  Keeler, 

Thos.  Corrigan, 

James  Furlong, 

Jeremiah  Kelly, 

Christian  Creice, 

Wm.  Gaynor, 

John  Lenard, 

John  Cullen, 

Wm.  Gillen, 

Peter  Lynch, 

Francis  Donnelly, 

James  Gunnell, 

John  Mack. 

Daniel  J.  Dngan, 

Joseph  Guthrie, 

W.  McCutcheon, 

Joha  Eglintou, 

Geo.  Hack, 

Win.  Miller, 

History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


COMPANY  G.  —  Continued. 

James  Monaglian, 

James  Reese, 

Francis  Stillenwerf, 

Elon  J.  Morse, 

James  A.  Scott, 

Jeremiah  Sullivan, 

Henry  Murray, 

Michael  Sharp, 

lienry  Swan, 

Hugh  O'Connor, 

Charles  Schuh, 

Orson  A.  Taylor, 

Robert  Pester, 

Simon  Smith,  Jr., 

Stephen  Turner, 

Owen  Powell, 

COMPANY  H. 

James  Baldwin, 

John  Farney, 

Peter  McKenny, 

John  Belson, 

Michael  Farrell, 

William  Randolph, 

II  .  Bishop  (Tooker), 

John  Gannon, 

Barney  Riley, 

Jere.  Burke, 

Daniel  Garvin, 

John  Rogers, 

James  Burns, 

Michael  Gorman, 

William   Sanders, 

John  Butler, 

John  Hand, 

William  Seaman, 

Michael  Callahan, 

John  Harrison, 

John  Shaughnessy, 

James  Campbell, 

Joseph  Hovey, 

Barnard  Simon, 

Patrick  Cassidy, 

Charles  Joachim, 

John  Skelly, 

Jas.  Clark, 

John  Keenan, 

John  Stewart, 

John  Connolly, 

James  Kielt, 

Thomas  Stewart, 

Charles  Cooms, 

Win.  Knappmann, 

George  Sneath, 

Henry  Cooper, 

Dennis  Lahiff, 

David  Swift, 

Stephen  Cray, 

George  Lary, 

Joseph  Taylor, 

Patrick  Donavan, 

John  Lynch, 

Lack  Tierney, 

Thomas  Doran, 

Leroy  D.  Moody, 

Win.  Waters, 

James  Dougherty, 

Dennis  Murray, 

Charles  West. 

Henry  Elting, 

James  McCarthy, 

Charles  Wilcox, 

James  Gillen, 

Andrew  McGraw, 

COMPANY  I. 

James  Balson, 

Patrick  Daley, 

William  Marshall, 

Daniel  Black, 

Chas.  H.  Denton, 

Thomas  McMahon, 

Robert  Bridge, 

James  Deegan, 

John  Miller, 

John  Bulger, 

Joseph  Dunning, 

Arthur  Morrow, 

James  Bunce, 

James  Ford, 

Jas.  Mulholland, 

Abm.  Butterworth, 

William  Gibbs, 

James  Murray, 

Thos.  J.  Cary, 

Thomas  Glancey, 

John  Old  ham, 

John  Corrigan, 

William  Hopper, 

James  Palmer, 

Patrick  Cavanaugh, 

John  Horsfall, 

Robt.  Paterson, 

Henry  Chapman,  Jr. 

Edward  P.  Jones, 

John  Porter, 

David  Clark, 

John  Kernan, 

James  Robinson, 

Edward  Connor, 

Jas.  Ken  worthy, 

David  Russell, 

James  Connor, 

James  Knight, 

Andrew  Sinclair, 

John  Craig,  1st, 

Hugh  Lilly, 

Peter  Tawse, 

John  Craig,  2d, 

Peter  Logan, 

Jacob  H.  Theberath, 

George  Crowell, 

Patrick  Lynch, 

Samuel  Walker, 

William  Davis, 

William  Malsfor, 

Theodore  Whitney, 

History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


James  Smith, 
Geo.  H.  Steele, 
John  Sullivan, 


Charles  Benient, 
Charles  E.  Berger, 
Henry  Badett, 
Peter  Barnard, 
John  Betz, 
John  Brown, 
William  Bussenias, 
George  Cubert, 
John  De  Reading, 
John  Doetter, 
Louis  Eberts, 
George  Ebert, 
Valentine  Euler, 
Stephen  Fishback, 
Louis  Fritz, 
Philip  Fritz, 
Juan  Frost, 
John  Gerlock, 


COMPANY  I. — Continued. 

John  Taylor. 
John  H.  Whitney, 
Kane  Williamson, 


COMPANY  K. 

Edward  Green, 
David  Gumperts, 
Patrick  Haggerty, 
Fred'k  Hensger, 
Louis  Hipp, 
Henry  Herbold, 
John  Hlgge, 
Louis  Hoelzle, 
O.  von  Hukenbach, 
Louis  Kannap^l, 
John  Keahren, 
Alex.  Kellogg, 
Benjamin  Kierpell, 
Martin  Kill  foil, 
Mathew  Kriss, 
Otto  Lu  den  bach, 
Augustus  Marks, 
William  Maurer, 


Blakely  Windsor, 
Thomas  Wood. 


Henry  Miegel, 
James  Mulligan, 
A.  Naumanrt, 
Christian  Nordt, 
Henry  Nordt, 
Henry  Pfan, 
John  Reiser, 
William  Rolm, 
Ernst  Schroder, 
Adolph  Schurman, 
N.  Schwiskarth, 
Jacob  Simon, 
Valentine  Staerk, 
Win.  Stevens, 
Adam  Strickler, 
Joshua  Thomas, 
Jacob  Ulrica, 
Geo.  Zimmerman. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  153 


State  of  New  York,  Executive  Department, 

Albany,  27th  Oct.,  1866. 
Bvt.  Brig.  Gen'l  WM.  WILSON. 

DEAR  SIR  ;  I  have  the  pleasure  to  transmit  here 
with  a  Brevet  Commission,  conferred  by  the  Presi 
dent  in  recognition  of  your  faithful  and  distinguished 
service  in  the  late  war. 

In  behalf  of  the  State  allow  me  to  thank  you  for  the 
gallantry  and  devotion  which  induced  this  conspicu 
ous  mention  by  the  general  Government. 

I  feel  a  lively  solicitude  in  all  that  relates  to  the 
honor  and  prosperity  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Union 
Army,  and  especially  those  from  our  own  State,  who 
advanced  its  renown  while  defending  the  cause  of  our 
common  country. 

Very  respectfully,  R.   E.   FENTON. 


Recorded  Vol.  5,  p.  42,  Adjt.  Gen.  Office, 

August  28th,  1866. 
E.  D.  TOWNSEND,  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 


of  the  United  ^t%tt$  of 

TO   ALL   WHO   SHALL   SEE   THESE    PRESENTS,    GREETING  : 

KNOW  YE,  That  I  do  hereby  confer  on  WILLIAM  WILSON 
of  the  United  States  Volunteers,  in  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
by  and.  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  the  rank  of 
Brigadier  -General  by  brevet  in  said  service,  to  rank  as  such  from 
the  nineteenth  day  of  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred,  and  sixty-five,  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services 
during  the  war. 

And  I  do  strictly  charge  and  require  all  Officers  and  Soldiers  under 
his  command  to  obey  and  respect  him  accordingly,  and  he  is  to  observe 
and  follow  such  orders  and  directions  from  time  to  time  as  he  shall 
receive  from  me  or  the  future  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  other  Officers  set  over  him,  according  to  law  and  the 
rules  and  discipline  of  war.  This  Commission  to  continue  in  force 
during  the  pleasure  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  the  time 
being. 

Given  under  my  hand,  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  twenty- 
eighth  day  of  August,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-six,  and  in  the  ninety-first  year  of  the  Independence 
of  the  United  States. 

ANDREW  JOHNSON. 
By  the  President, 

EDWIN  M.  STANTON, 

Secrttary  of  War. 


154  History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment. 


SOCIETY  OF  THE  SIXTH  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 
NEW  YORK  VOLUNTEERS. 


In  the  summer  of  1885,  Captain  Wm.  J.  Denslow 
and  Sergeant  Jacob  H.  Theberath,  thought  it  was  a 
great  pity  that  the  old  soldierly  fellowship  of  the 
Sixth  should  be  entirely  dissipated,  and  they  called  a 
meeting  of  such  survivors  of  the  regiment  as  could  be 
found.  This  call  was  backed  by  Major  Burgess,  Cap 
tain  Kaufmann,  Corporals  Kannapel,  Carroll,  Hoelzle 
and  a  few  others,  and  it  resulted  in  a  meeting,  held 
Nov.  26th,  under  the  following  note  : 

New  York,  Nov.  6,  1885. 

Dear  Comrades — Should  you  desire  to  participate 
in  organizing  an  association  to  consist  of  members  of 
the  late  Sixth  Regiment  Infantry  N.  Y.  Volunteers, 
please  attend  a  meeting  which  will  be  held  at  496 
Third  Avenue,  New  York  City,  on  the  26th  instant, 
(Thanksgiving)  from  3  to  6  o'clock,  P.  M. 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  members  of  the  old 
Regiment,  (estimated  100  or  more),  residing  in  New 
York  City  and  vicinity,  and  it  is  thought  by  the 
undersigned  and  several  other  members  who  have 
conferred  with  each  other  on  the  matter,  that  by 
calling  them  together  a  permanent  organization  can  be 
effected,  which  will  be*  of  a  pleasurable  and  probably 
beneficial  character.  Please  inform  any  other  mem 
bers  whose  whereabouts  are  known  to  you  of  the  con 
templated  meeting  and  endeavor  to  secure  their 
presence. 

\V.  J.  DENSLOW, 
Late  Captain  Sixth  New  York  Volunteers. 


History  of  a   Volunteer  Regiment.  155 


This  meeting1  was  attended  by  some  eighty  surviv 
ing  members  of  the  regiment  and  resulted  in  the 
adoption  of  a  Constitution,  under  which  the  Society 
now  lives. 

Since  the  definite  organization  of  the  Society,  its 
history  has  been  entirely  harmonious  and  creditable, 
the  old  soldiers  as  usual  have  showed  themselves  not 
only  capable  of  being  good  comrades  to  one  another, 
but  also  in  condition  to  give  themselves  and  their 
friends  a  very  good  sort  of  a  time  when  occasion 
called  for  the  same. 

A  short  sketch  of  the  doings  of  the  organization 
during  the  past  five  years  is  now  in  order,  and  its  his 
tory  is  as  follows  :  The  organization  has  paraded  on 
Decoration  Day,  from  1887  to  the  present  time.  It 
was  in  1890  an  honored  guest  of  the  Chaplain  Butler 
Post  G.  A.  R.  of  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  from  which 
city  a  large  number  of  the  best  soldiers  of  the  old 
regiment  came.  It  has  in  all  cases  assisted  comrades 
in  trouble  and  distress,  and  has  steadily  exerted  itself 
in  the  way  of  getting  pensions  for  men  who  had 
proper  claims  on  the  treasury.  It  has  likewise  kept 
up  a  strong  feeling  of  friendly  relationship  between 
all  persons  concerned,  both  the  men  who  carried 
swords  and  the  men  who  handled  muskets  in  the 
brave  old  days  so  long  ago. 

The  survivors  of  the  Sixth  are  not  now  numerically 
very  strong.  The  stalwart  lively  boys  of  1861  are  on 
the  down  hill  side  of  life,  and  very  many  of  the  old 
hands  have  gone  over  to  the  majority,  but  the  organ 
ization  does  and  will  so  long  as  a  member  of  it  is 
above  ground,  consider  it  its  absolute  duty  to  honor 
and  support  the  flag  ;  to  stand  by  its  comrades,  and 
to  instruct  the  rising  generation  in  these  first  duties 
of  an  American  citizen. 

At  the  first  few  meetings  of  the  Association,  the 
presence  of  their  beloved  chaplain  Father  Nash,  was 
hailed  with  delight.  He  had  cheering  words  for  all, 
and  usually  made  an  address  to  the  members  of  the 


156  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


Society,  full  of  facts  and  old  time  reminders.  It  was 
with  deep  feelings  of  regret  that  the  Society  received 
his  resignation  as  a  member,  made  necessary  by 
duties  in  the  church  which  would  call  him  away,  and 
suitable  resolutions  relating  thereto  were  adopted. 


On  the  occasion  of  the  Excursion  to  Paterson,  May 
3Oth,  1890,  the  Society  was  photographed,  a  repro 
duction  of  which  is  given  herewith.  The  names  of 
the  comrades  present  are  appended,  and  are  believed 
to  be  correct.  At  the  ensuing  meeting  of  the  Society 
suitable  resolutions  were  passed  thanking  the  Chaplain 
Butler  Post  G.  A.  R.,  and  the  Ladies'  Relief  Corps, 
of  Paterson,  N.  J.,  for  the  reception  and  entertain 
ment,  and  a  copy  of  the  same  was  engrossed,  and 
framed  and  forwarded  to  that  Post. 

1.  Capt.  Chas.  E.  Heuberer,  21.  Christian  Shuart, 

2.  Capt.  W.  J.  Denslow,  22.  Thos.  Walsh, 

3.  Sergeant  James  Smith,  23.  Sergt.  John  Wellington, 

4.  Capt.  J.  G.  McNutt,  24.  John  J.  Bulger, 

5.  Dr.  S.  A.  Mason,  25.  Benjamin  Crane, 

0.  Tlios.  Smith,  26.  John  W.  Stickelman, 

7.  James  Robinson,  27.  Miss  Maggie  Kielt, 

8.  Abui.  Butterworth,  28.  Chas.  Chandler, 

9.  Win.  A.  Wilson,  29.  Samuel  Keeler, 

10.  Lieut.  Thos.  J.  Robarts,  30.  A.  J.  Quinn, 

11.  Robert  C.  Silvey,  31.  William  McHenry, 

12.  Sergt.  Jacob  H.  Theberath,  32.  John  Higgins, 
15J.  Joseph  Randall,  34.  Samuel  Walker, 

14.  William  Davis,  36.  Louis  Kannapel, 

15.  Edward  McDonald,  37.  Owen  Craig, 

16.  William  Marshall,  39.  James  Dunkley, 

17.  Corporal  Philip  Carroll,  41.  Charles  Fisher, 

18.  William  Welch,  42.  Robert  Bridge, 

19.  Sergt.  John  Smith,  43.  Robert  Adams, 

20.  Corporal  James  Kielt,  45.  John  Oldham. 


Cfl 


W 

cv 


158  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


At  the  Quarterly  Meeting  of  the  Society,  held  at  No.  70 
East  Fourth  Street,  New  York  City,  on  the  evening  of  Fri 
day,  August  22d,  1890,  the  following  Preamble  and  Reso 
lutions  were  unamiously  adopted  : 

WHEREAS,  at  the  invitation  of  CHAPLAIN  BUTLER  POST 
No.  35,  Department  of  New  Jersey  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  this  Association  visited  Paterson,  N.  J.,  on 
Memorial  Day,  May  30th,  1890,  and 

WHEREAS,  the  reception  and  the  hospitalities  tendered  by 
that  Post  were  such  as  almost  to  overpower  and  prevent  a  due 
and  just  expression  of  our  thanks  at  that  time,  and 

WHEREAS,  this  is  the  first  meeting  of  the  Association 
since  returning  from  that  visit  :  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  Association  tender  to 
CHAPLAIN  BUTLER  POST  their  heartfelt  thanks  for  the 
invitation  ;  their  unbounded  satisfaction  for  the  reception 
and  festivities  received  ;  and  their  hope  that  every  member 
of  that  Post,  together  with  the  LADIES  OF  THE  RELIEF 
CORPS,  may  long  be  spared  to  carry  on  their  good  work  of 
Fraternity,  Charity  and  Loyalty. 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  Association  can  not 
fully  express  their  feelings  of  gratitude  for  the  kindness 
rendered,  and  hope  that  the  time  may  soon  come  when  they 
rrtay  be  in  the  position  to  offer  a  return  of  the  same. 

Resolved,  that  the  Secretary  be  instructed  to  have  these 
resloutions  suitably  inscribed,  and  forwarded  to  CHAPLAIN 
BUTLER  POST. 

CHAS.   E.    HEUBERER, 

President. 
THOMAS  SMITH, 

Vice-Pres't  &  Ch.  Com.  of  Arrangements. 

JOHN  W.   STICKELMAN,   Secretary. 


History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment.  159 


f  the 

BY  THE  GRACE  OF  GOD  FREE  AND  INDEPENDENT  : 
To  WILLIAM  WILSON,  GREETING  : 

We,  reposing  especial  trust  and  confidence  as  well  in  your  patriot 
ism,  conduct  and  loyalty,  as  in  your  integrity  and  readiness  to  do  us 
good  and  faithful  service,  have,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
Act  of  the  Legislature  passed  April  IQth,  18G1,  entitled  "An  act  to 
authorize  the  embodying  and  equipment  of  a  Volunteer  Militia  and  to 
provide  for  the  public,  defence,"  appointed  and  constituted  and  by  these 
presents  do  appoint  and  constitute  you  the  said  WILLIAM  WILSON, 
COLONEL  of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  N.  T.  S.  Volunteers,  with  rank  from 
MayWd,  1861. 

You  are  therefore  to  observe  and  follow  such  orders  and  directions 
as  you  shall  from  time  to  time  receive  from  our  Commander-in-  Chief  of 
the  Military  Forces  of  our  said  State  or  any  other  your  Superior 
Officer  according  to  the  Rules  and  Discipline  of  War,  and  hold  the  said 
Office  in  the  manner  specified  in  and  by  the  Constitution  and  Lairs  of 
our  said  State  and  of  the  United  States  in  pursuance  of  the  trust  im 
posed  in  you,  and  for  so  doing  this  shall  be  your  Commission. 

In  testimony  whereof,  we  have  caused  our  seal  for  military 
commissions  to  be  hereunto  affixed. 

Witness,  EDWIN  D.  MORGAN,  Governor  of  our  said  State,  Com 
mander  -in-Chief  of  the  Military  and  Naval  Forces  of  the  same,  at  our 
City  of  Albany,  the  twentieth  day  of  June,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-one. 

E.  D.  MORGAN. 
Passed  the  Adjt.  Gen.  Office, 

J.  MEREDITH  REED,  JR., 

Adjutant  Gen. 


[SECOND  LIEUT.,  STH  REGIMENT,  N.  Y.  S.  M.J 
On  the  7th  October,  1858,  Governor  John  A.  King  issued  a  com 
mission  as  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  8th  Regiment,  Third  Brigade, 
First   Division,  New  York  State  Militia,  to  William  Wilson,  with 
rank  from  September  22d,  1858. 


[CAPTAIN,  STH  REGIMENT,  N.  Y.  S.  M.] 

On  the  30th  July,  1859,  Governor  E.  D.  Morgan  issued  a  com 
mission  as  Captain  in  the  8th  Regiment,  Third  Brigade,  First 
Division,  New  York  State  Militia,  to  William  Wilson,  with  rank 
from  May  19th,  1859. 


160  History  of  a    Volunteer  Regiment. 


\  Inscription  on  Service  of  Plate  presented  to  Colonel  Wilson.] 

"/  did  my  duty  and  fulfilled  my  trust  to  tJic 

people,  remembering  my  oath  of  office 

above  all  considerations''1 

TO 

WILLIAM  WILSON, 

From  his  fellow   citizens    of  the    Eighteenth   Ward, 

residents  and  property  owners  on  Lexington  Avenue, 

etcetera,   as    a   token    of  respect  and   admiration   for 

the  faithful  and  independent  discharge  of  his  duties 

as  a  public  officer  and  alderman  of  the  First  Ward 

Of  the  City  of  New  York. 

MARCH,  1857. 


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